TMNT: A Ghost of a Chance
by Poleepkwana
Summary: New York is back on its feet and Karai is recovered. Now that the family is whole again, it's time to start new projects and make some important decisions. But the appearance of a new ninja clan and a group of unexpected visitors from another time flip the Hamatos' lives upside down, once again perturbing their new-found peace. Apriltello, Leorai and mild Rasey.
1. Chapter 1

**The story is set a few months after "The Deadly Venom". Apriltello, Leorai and mild Rasey. Rated T for language and some adult themes. Nothing too explicit.**

 **We realize this chapter is a bit long, but don't worry, next chapters will be more manageable^^**

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"Itadakimasu!"

The word resounded around the small shop, pronounced by eight different mouths at the same time at different levels of accuracy, and even before the last echo faded there were greedy plinkings of chopsticks on ceramic plates and various murmurs of delight.

It was after closing time at the noodle shop and Murakami still had customers over, although they weren't customers so much as guests. They wouldn't be paying tonight. Tonight dinner was on him. The curtains were drawn and the entrance door was locked. With that one word, dinner had officially begun.

It had been more than a year since that night that the turtles came to his restaurant right in the nick of time, as usual, and saved him from the Purple Dragons, and then many times over. He owed his friends his life, so a bit of food was really no big deal, even when -of course being the turtles- it was quite the generous bit of food. It was a special occasion; finally he got to meet their sensei!

The way his sons had described him, this man must have been a thing to behold, had he been able to use his own eyes. He could not, but he could still _see_ him. When he entered the shop, Murakami was able to hear the light clicking of claws on his floorboards, and the brushing of his tail as he walked. By the sound of it, he was wearing a long kimono of sorts made of some tough yet downy material. The smell was a confirmation that he lived in the same place that his sons did, but also carried a clear scent of Sencha tea and sweet incense. Jasmine. And he liked his voice; it was both imposing and nurturing, and had an elegant baritone quality to it.

"Murakami-san, I hope my sons weren't too insisting. I assure you I had no intention of dragging you into such complications."

And this rat man was also very well mannered, the traditional japanese way. He reminded him of his parents' village back in Japan. It felt good being able to practice his own language for once.

"It's no complication! It's my pleasure!" Murakami said cheerfully, adopting a gesture of pure self-satisfaction. "Nothing makes me happier than to have your family sitting at my bar, and to finally be able to meet you, Splinter-san."

The young turtle at his side gave Splinter a triumphant grin. "Seee?"

Splinter gave Michelangelo an amused roll of his eyes before turning back to the old man.

"Arigato" he said, making a small courteous bow of his head before remembering that the other would not be able to see that. He rectified and cleared his throat. "I don't leave our home often, but they were very persistent. It seems the idea of us meeting was very thrilling to them. I can see why. It's nice to speak with someone from my old country."

"Same here" Murakami agreed, a clear pinch of nostalgia in his tone of voice. "Now, I'm sure you've tried my pizza gyoza, but how about a more traditional japanese home-cooked meal with a bit of the finest sake to go with that?"

The smile on Splinter's snout spread wider at the sight of the dish in Murakami's hands and his whiskers wiggled with anticipated delight. He couldn't remember the last time he had a real Japanese meal.

"Smells wonderful."

"I assure you it tastes better," Murakami added proudly as he poured the warm sake on the tiny _sakazuki_ cup and placed it on the table in front of Splinter. As soon as his sensei raised the porcelain cup with the clear liquid, contemplating the fine craftsmanship, the young turtle in the orange bandana bolted in his seat to look at it more closely.

"What's that?"

And before Splinter could answer, the purple-clad turtle sitting a few seats down the bar beat him to it.

"That's sake. The Japanese brew it from fermented rice" Donatello happily explained.

"So it's rice juice?"

"It's not rice juice! It's a very potent liquor!"

Michelangelo gave a loud gasp of excitement.

"Can I try some?"

"Absolutely not!" Splinter said, holding the cup out of reach of his son's greedy hands. "The last thing you need, Michelangelo, is for alcohol to further your lack of inhibition."

"Well, can _we_ try it?" asked the turtle in red sitting next to Mikey.

"Not until you're 21, Raphael."

And as though voicing Raphael's disappointment, the young human boy in the paint-stained clothes leaned in to speak, bumping shoulders with the red-haired girl in yellow next to him.

"Come on, Master Splinter! Every parent lets their children take a sip at Christmas, or New Year's, and stuff like that."

"What you and your family do in your own time is none of my concern, Mr. Jones" Splinter said, referring to Casey in the way he did when he was in strict japanese dad mode. "But I can't let you indulge in illegal activities on my watch."

"Aw, man, but I'm almost 20 already. That would make it almost legal in Japan."

"No" Splinter said sternly with a finality that left no place for a reproach, and then he finally took the cup to his lips and sipped.

"He's not wrong, though," Donnie admitted to whoever would listen. Normally that wouldn't include many people, but today's subject _was_ alcohol. "In many countries people can drink at the age of 18. The lowest legal drinking age is 16 in some European provinces, and in Ukraine it's actually legal to give your child alcohol at the age of 5 as long as it's on private premises."

Casey blew a loud raspberry.

"This blows. When did we get stuck with the suckier drinking age?"

"The law is there for a reason, pea brain. Alcohol can be a very dangerous drug," Donatello retorted in exactly the tone of voice that Casey couldn't stand, the kind that made him feel like he was being lectured.

Mikey cheered, wide-eyed.

"Cool, so if we went on vacation there right now we could drink alcohol?"

"Psh-yeah. We'll just put on a trenchcoat and take the next transatlantic bus there" Raphael scoffed.

"Actually," Leonardo said from his seat next to the Japanese girl in the leather jacket, "Might I make a petition to never let Mikey drink even after he turns 21?"

All brothers immediately hollered in unison.

"Aye!"

"Where do I sign?"

Mikey gave them all a pouty face and a pair of narrowed eyes full of hurt.

At the far end of the bar, the girl in leather jacket leaned in close to Leo.

"I've had sake. It isn't all that", Karai whispered in his ear and as usual he couldn't be sure if she was bluffing or not. But before he could ask, Mikey's squeals of ecstasy cut him off, drilling in everybody's ears. The kid had the memory of a fish sometimes.

"Man this is going to be the best Sensei Day EVER!" His rear end bonked against the stool's wood like a hammer drill. "We got Murakami's delish food, and the gang's all here!" Suddenly he gave a gasp like he'd just realised something. "Ooh! We forgot to formally introduce Karai to Murakami-san!"

At his words, everything in the room fell into a sudden standstill. Laughter went splat on the floor and the uncomfortable silence was only broken by the sound of a pair of chopsticks being dropped on a plate.

"Awesome!" Mikey said, obviously mistaking everybody's silence as them politely waiting for him to do the honors. "Karai, meet Mr. Murakami. Murakami-san, this is our sister Karai."

"Uh.. actually, Karai and Murakami-san have already kinda met," Raph declared bluntly and he was cut off by April's small pale hand that had reached across Casey to smack him in the shoulder.

"What?" he protested.

Karai was throwing Raphael an icy glare, but stayed quiet as she apprehensively glanced around her to the rest of the people in the room. Sweet Mikey had been stunned into silence, seemingly confused by their reactions.

She had been dreading this moment; the moment in which her past life was brought up, specifically the part where she was tasked with threatening and beating an old man senseless, wrecking this very restaurant just to get information on the turtles and their friends. To... 'strike at their hearts'.

Mikey pressed on as if nothing weird had happened. Obviously they didn't get his point.

"No, but I mean we have to introduce the good Karai! You know, cuz when they met she was still Shredder's evil kunoichi daughter and was like trying to kill us…"

"Geez, Mikey, shut up..." Casey groaned under his breath, leaning in behind Raph.

"But-"

"Michelangelo!" Splinter scolded curtly, but seemed at a loss for something to say after that. He looked almost as troubled as Karai, but not quite. Mikey looked up at his stoic face, confused and disheartened, and gave up trying to fix things.

Karai dropped her eyes, trying to ignore the way everybody was avoiding her gaze. She wished they wouldn't do that, it almost made it worse…She wished someone would just say something.

At the center next to his kitchen, Murakami hesitated to speak, sensing everybody's discomfort and somewhat unsettled by the thick cloud of awkwardness that had plunged over the group all of a sudden, and the resounding silence coming from Karai's corner of the bar.

Finally he decided he couldn't let such a thing fester.

"Oh, yes…I remember Miss Karai," Murakami started speaking to the whole of the room in a casual voice and Karai's head drooped. She wanted nothing else but to sink through the floor. But then Murakami's mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. "I remember she honorably refused to harm me when that tiger man would have surely killed me."

Karai lifted her gaze from her food plate, surprised by Murakami's change in tone.

"It was likely because of her that I was allowed to live. So I was very happy to hear that you had found a better path, and now it's an honor to formally meet you, Karai." Murakami was addressing her directly now. "I hope your new life brings you happiness."

A smile of relief lit her expression, a patch of bright blue on a rainy sky.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu, Murakami-san," she said courteously presenting the old man with her gratitude.

"Dōitashimashite," the man said with a smile of his own. "Don't forget to try the _negima_!"

Just like that, Murakami was back by his kitchen, merrily humming a tune as he flipped a pan-full of vegetables in the air and the atmosphere in the room changed to a warmer hue as the fog lifted. However the tight knot constricting Karai's chest still wouldn't grant her the bravery to look too closely in everybody else's eyes. Deep down she was still scared that she might not find all the reassurance she was striving for. And after what she did, how could she expect any different?

At her side, she caught Leonardo turning his head and offering her an encouraging smile under the placid blue of his timid glance. That alone managed to light a faint shimmer of hope within and the knot loosened another bit.

Then the turtle turned to face the room and said casually "So we ran into Martin the other day!"

Karai was grateful for the renewed festive feel that Leo's comment achieved, even when it was obviously meant to keep the subject away from her. It would give her time to gather herself and dissolve her troubling thoughts in the casual conversation.

"You mean _Sir Malachi,_ " Donnie corrected amusingly.

"The sparrow guy with the LARP addiction?" Casey said.

"Yeah and guess what he proposed we played."

"I doubt it was a game of cricket," Casey joked. He'd only met Sir Malachi once and the aversion had been mutual, especially after the way he'd made fun of hockey.

"He'd play cricket if there was a role playing game for it," Raph jeered around a mouthful of sashimi.

"Dude, you can make roleplay out of anything! That's the beauty of it!" interceded Michelangelo with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Yeah, and I have a score to settle with Malachi for giving Mikey the idea," Raph said, smacking his fist into his other palm. "He actually had us try out a _Starvation Run_ LARP. I hadn't even recovered from Malachi's game!"

" _Starvation Run_? That movie about the chick that gets sent to these games where everybody kills each other?" Casey's eyebrows quirked, fork held halfway to his mouth.

"How do you make a LARP of a movie if you already know how it's going to end?" April asked as well. "Isn't it supposed to be about improv and stuff?"

Leonardo let out a cynical snicker.

"Well, we were supposed to make ourselves whole new characters, but Mikey here kind of ruined it because of course he _had_ to be Catmint…"

"Um, hello? It's called an _alternate universe_ , look it up sometime!" the turtle took a bite of his spring roll and proceeded to finish making his point with his mouth full. "Besides, how could I miss my chance at being Catmint for one day? Oh man, she's sooo cool! I wish I was her, she's awesome with the bow and arrows!"

"You're already like twice as good as she is, ya ding-dong!" Raph cried in frustration.

"Yeah but she's all heroic and stuff, and brave, and kicks butt and is smart and…"

"Hey you think they should make a movie about us, then? Because I don't know about you guys, but I think I'd pawn this Catnip person to the ground in pretty much every aspect," Raph protested.

"Excuse _you_ , it's _Catmint_ , not _Catnip_."

"Are you like a Catmint fanboy, Mikey?" Casey asked, bemused.

At that, the orange-clad turtle stood up straight, chest puffed out, kissed his forefinger and pointed it towards the ceiling dramatically, then whistled an evocative four-note tune as sole response. The other brothers engaged in a collective face palm while both Casey and April stared in confusion.

"Did he just somehow give me the finger?" Casey said, directing his bewilderment to the whole of the group.

"No! That was the District 12 salute!" Mikey exclaimed in disbelief, outraged by such scandalous lack of culture. "Well, you know, minus a couple fingers… Hey, you guys should join us next time!"

"I dunno, I haven't even seen those movies," Casey said, sounding very uninterested. Not that that would give Mikey any pause...

"Oh, no worries! I can totally make your character bios for you like I did last time. I set it all up for them like a pro game master," Mikey said, pointing at his brothers. "Raph was District 1, cuz he would be a trained tribute for sure and he would totally volunteer for the _Starvation Run_. Then Leo was District 2, cuz that's where all the Peacekeeper agents are trained… Oh, and Karai was district 7," Mikey said and turned to Karai as though inciting her to tell it.

"Because of that one crazy girl from the second movie," Karai added. "She was nuts, walking around in the raw, I loved her."

Mikey gave a confirmatory nod.

"And of course Donnie was District 3: the ' _nerd'_ district," he finished with an evil grin.

Donatello raised one proud eyebrow ridge.

"I like to think of it as the _genius_ district, thank you very much."

"You would, ya giant nerd," Raph grunted.

"Say what you will, meathead, I still won the LARP" Donnie replied, his arms crossed in a show of superiority.

"That's cuz you're almost as big of a LARP nerd as Mikey."

"Do not tempt the game master, Raph," Michelangelo threatened in an ominous voice. "You don't want this karma on your next game."

"What makes you think I wanna _be_ in your next game?" Raph retorted, though actually he couldn't wait to inflict his mighty retaliation upon them all.

While the rest were still in heated conversation about who was the biggest nerd, Donnie glanced down at April not for the first time noticing the absent stare or the dark circles under her eyes. She didn't look like she was following the conversation at all anymore.

"You're very quiet tonight, April," he ventured softly, and he was met with a pair of heavy-lidded eyes.

"Yeah, you haven't said a word all evening," Casey added then, one eyebrow lifted.

"I've said words!" April protested wanely. "I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night," she shrugged noncommittally, forcing a yawn.

"How's that exam going?" Donnie asked in a bout of concern, having the distinct hunch that school was only part of the problem, though he preferred not to touch the subject of her dad while celebrating. She'd mentioned Kirby had been having acute night terrors and he could tell she was having a hard time even when she didn't say.

"Ugh… don't remind me," she groaned. "I can't seem to get the hang of some of those problems, it's driving me nuts. And the exam is next week," she added, a look of absolute dread on her face.

"If you want, I could try to explain it to you. We could have a study session, the three of us!" Donnie offered with utmost enthusiasm.

"Geez, Donnie, do you have to bring up school at a party?" Casey said as if the sole mention of the word 'school' were nothing short of toilet talk.

Donnie was going to retort but April was quicker.

"Actually, that would be great!" she said, ignoring Casey's interruption, then she turned to the human boy. "We should do it, Casey. Donnie's a great teacher."

"A nerd like him, I'd expect nothing less."

That earned him a piece of sashimi to the face, which April had to duck to avoid.

"Bonehead," Donnie murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

"Smartass," Casey countered, flinging a wet noodle in his direction. But Donatello dodged the projectile with ninja speed and the noodle smacked Leonardo on the back of the head instead.

"What are you doing?" Leo exclaimed, twisting towards them and throwing them a look of affront while Karai laughed beside him.

"Good one, Jones," Karai said, and Casey acknowledged the felicitation with a satisfied smirk.

"Will you two goofballs stop that? I'd like to actually _eat_ some of this food," April chastised and said goofballs adopted an efficient look of compunction. Leonardo shook his head slowly.

"Hold still, Leo" Karai's voice said in his ear and he froze, watching through the corner of his eye as Karai outstretched her hand towards him. For a moment she looked like she was going to caress his cheek and he tensed in expectation, suppressing a shiver. But alas, her hand went past Leo's ear and started peeling the noodle from his blue bandana. Karai let the noodle hang from her fingers for a couple of seconds, gloating over the effects of her actions, and then dropped it casually on her tongue.

Leo peered at the wink she gave him with mixed feelings. Luckily the others were already back to their own conversations and didn't witness this exchange.

"I'm not calling Master Splinter a druggie! All I'm saying is alcohol should be treated with respect!" he heard Donnie argue behind him.

"So where were we?" Karai said to regain the turtle's attention, leaning on the counter and chewing pointedly.

Leonardo stammered.

"Uh, we were…" he halted, and switched to Japanese. " _We were talking about Fūtarō Yamada and his Ninpōchō series"_

He wasn't expecting the sharp chuckle she gave him then.

" _You're so cute when you try"_ _._

Leo scowled.

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Your accent's terrible."_

" _Hey, I wasn't born in Japan like you!"_

" _Don't be mad, Leo. I just like teasing you because you get all proud and pissy."_

Leo had to contain himself before he proved her right yet again.

" _Shall we go on, then?"_ Leo invited, his aggravation successfully contained for the moment.

" _Of course, silly,"_ Karai said, laughing at the stately semblance that Leo was putting on for her. " _You were saying you've read one of his books?"_

" _Yeah, Kōga Ninpōchō."_

" _Hmm, sounds familiar. What's it about?"_

" _It's about this deadly confrontation between the Iga and the Kōga ninja, and how the future leaders of both clans fall in love."_

Karai did an intrigued rut of her eyebrows.

" _Oh really..."_ she said suggestively, and Leo's cheeks immediately began to feel hot. " _Did you read it recently?"_

" _I read it many years ago,"_ he said, once again nervous about what Karai's suggestions usually brought on, his heart suddenly hammering excitedly. He hadn't thought about the parallels and now she was deliberately playing him like a shamisen. Man, he had to learn to choose his conversation topics better... " _It was a good read, I read it for all the ninja stuff, not… not the romance..."_

The was a fraction of a second's pause.

" _Hmm…"_ Karai uttered thoughtfully, and Leo could've sworn she looked upset all of a sudden. But he could never be sure…He allowed her a few seconds to make her move, hoping for the usual haughty smirk full of confidence but all he got was a frowning silence.

" _What?"_ Leo asked at length when she wouldn't say anything.

He faltered, and this time it wasn't out of fluster. _What just happened? What did I say?_

" _Nevermind,"_ Karai replied, shaking a hand in the air in a clear attempt to downplay. She wasn't fooling Leo, though. Any other day she was an expert at hiding beneath masks of unabashed kunoichi confidence, but tonight he knew better. He'd been on edge the entire evening, throwing her side glances wondering if it had been a good idea bringing her here. She'd seemed fine, but the mention of her past aggression on Murakami obviously struck a chord. Her sudden seriousness had completely knocked him off balance, because it was frustratingly inscrutable.

Karai cleared her throat and tucked a strand of her black mane behind her ear. "I might have to reread that book," she commented.

" _I can lend it to you if you want,"_ Leo said and he elbowed her fondly, trying to make her smile again. He'd take all the ambiguous flirting, exhausting though it was, over _this_ any day.

" _Yeah, I'll ask you for it one of these days,"_ Karai agreed, hardly looking at him as she sipped from her glass, her brow still wrinkled in thought.

Saddened by the direction in which the conversation had suddenly deviated, Leonardo mimicked her, taking a long gulp of his lychee flavoured _Ramune_ soda. He tried to focus on the other discussions taking place in the room in an attempt to distract his own mind from the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach, but his thoughts always meandered back to Karai, now quiet and pensive at his side.

He couldn't understand what he could have possibly said to make her fall into this sudden mutism. Thinking back to all the times that Donatello had seemed confused or frustrated about April, he wondered if this impenetrableness was a trait of all women. If that were the case, then he wished he were brave enough to ask or wise enough to see the little things that were inadvertently escaping his most scrupulous attention. When it came to this, it seemed it didn't matter how brilliant or astute any of them were, because both brothers were failing miserably and there was no science nor training that could have prepared them for it.

And on top of that, there was the matter of Karai's process of adaptation to her new life. Even months later, and when she tried hard to appear composed in front of them, despite everyone's best efforts at making her feel welcome she was still struggling. Leo was well aware of the tremendous leap of faith that had been the passage from being Oroku Saki's daughter, heir of the Foot Clan, to practically an outcast, daughter of a ninja master who lived secluded from the world and roommates with a group of mutant turtle teens. This oddball family of his was now all that she had in this world and he couldn't blame her for her insecurity.

He wanted nothing more than to trust his gut, to tell her everything would be alright, that they were in this together now. He wanted to promise to her that she would feel right at home with time, and that meanwhile she could always count on him. But when he saw her like this, so impervious and unfathomable, he couldn't help but think that maybe there was more to it than she was letting out. That she was hiding something. And he didn't want to be wrong again. He'd been wrong so many times...

Without realizing it, Leonardo's eyes had drifted to Karai as his thoughts ran like rapids, anxious and turbulent, and only when the girl turned to meet his gaze did he realize he was staring. But before he could recover, a devious grin had spread on her face and without further preambles she gripped Leonardo's arm in a lock and pulled him towards her with such force that he almost spilled his drink. Before he had time to react she stole a light peck on his cheek, so light it was barely perceptible. Leonardo still noticed though, and when she finally released his arm he recoiled, utterly disconcerted.

"What the-" Leonardo blurted out back in his first language, astounded by the way she could jump from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other in the blink of an eye.

"You had a drop of soy sauce on your cheek, probably from that noodle attack," she said, shrugging in a carefree manner.

"Would you _please_ stop using me as your dinner plate?" Leonardo complained rubbing his cheek, still a little shaken by the abrupt change in attitude.

"And waste this expensive soy sauce? Don't be absurd." Karai gave him a friendly nudge and she got back to her drink, admiring Leo's blush and with the clear satisfaction of having put it there.

The turtle sighed, but smiled in seeing her back to her usual self. Maybe he was reading too much into things. Maybe she really was alright and _he_ was the one who needed to relax.

"Who's ready for the special?"

Leonardo's present thoughts flew out the window at Murakami's words. The teaser had a powerful effect on everyone present, shutting them all up instantly and gaining their undivided attention. The turtles fixed their eyes on the food tray concealed behind the old man's back like four hungry hounds waiting for their treat.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," Mikey chanted. "I think I know what he means!"

"We all know what he means, little brother!" Raphael gave him a light smack on the back of the head, but his mouth was as watery as everybody's.

Murakami took out the metal tray from behind him holding it high for everyone to behold, and the response would not have been more grandiose if it had been a jewel encrusted crown on a velvet cushion.

"Pizza gyoza!"

The restaurant exploded in cheers and impatient sounds of shifting bar stools as he served them all one plate at a time, starting with Splinter and working his way around the bar. By the time he reached Karai and went back to his stove, the dumplings had disappeared from Mikey's plate.

Raphael glanced sideways at Mikey's clean plate and then at Mikey, eyes narrowed in distrust at his brother's suspicious look of innocence. He slid his own plate away and shielded it with his arms before he continued eating. Plans thwarted, Mikey buried a scrunched up chin on his crossed arms.

"Man, I love Japanese food!" Casey mumbled with a mouth full of gyoza.

"Actually, this isn't what you'd call traditional jap-" Donatello was going to correct him, but Casey cut him short with a belch that made the soy sauce ripple in its platter.

"Ew! Casey!" April cried, flapping a hand between her and Casey's mouth.

"Real classy, Jones…"

"Ooh, ooh, I know just what to reply to that!" Mikey exclaimed two seats down the bar before adopting a pose of zen concentration, as if he was channeling some inner energy flowing from his center. Then, with his arms raised high in a religious fashion, he unloaded a glass shattering burp lasting three whole mississippi's.

"Auughhh Mikey!" Raph groaned, covering his snout.

Splinter, whose sensitive nose _and ears_ had to agree with Raphael, was about to call for decency when Murakami stopped him.

"Let the boys play, Splinter-san. They've been through a lot, you all deserve some time off, even from some social conventions."

Splinter merely grunted as sole confirmation. Perhaps he was right.

Leonardo, however, was red as a poppy.

"Seriously, guys? You're doing this in front of Murakami-san _and_ Sensei!"

Neither Mikey nor Casey seemed to care.

"Oh-ho! So is that how it's gonna be?" the gap-tooth grin on Casey's face spread into a wolfish sneer and he took a long gulp of his soda.

"Oh, come on" Donatello said, covering his ears in anticipation, and he saw April push her stool away from the bar, reeling as Casey put on his war face. The human boy looked at his mutant challenger dead in the eye, planted his palms on the bar and heaved, releasing forth what could have perfectly been the roar of a thousand hell hounds.

"Stooooop!" Leo whined, hiding his embarrassment behind his hands and eyeing Murakami and Splinter through the slits between his fingers. The cook looked amused, but Splinter was shaking his head slowly, leaning away towards the corner of the bar in a feeble attempt to avoid any collateral damage. It would prove difficult though as the orange-clad turtle was currently climbing onto the bar counter with an air of defiance.

"You dare challenge me, puny human! Prepare to suffer the wrath of Michelangelord, God of Thunder!"

Wrath of the gods it was. The people sitting closest to Mikey swore they felt their clothes and bandanas wave in the air. Michelangelo's counter strike might have reached a 9 in the Richter scale, had Donatello brought his sensor with him. Something that could very well show up on the news the following morning as dozens of New Yorkers called in to report a brief but intense tremor in the vicinity of the tiny noodle shop tucked away in a corner of a dead end street.

Mikey plopped down on his stool looking dizzy as the aftershocks faded and not even the more squeamish could contain the laughter.

"Ahhh… wouldn't want to follow that," Raphael commented in a collected manner, in the way that a presenter would at a chess game. Then he turned to Casey with a knowing look.

"So what do you say? Fold?"

"If I do this anymore I'm going to puke. How about you, Raph? Care to weigh in?"

"I would, but… after that I can only embarrass myself."

"Oh yeah! I win! Mikey wins! You amateurs thought you could beat me at my own game!"

"Congrats, little brother!" Karai said as she merrily applauded. "If only I was as talented."

The young turtle was visibly pleased by his big sister's praise.

"I can teach you!" he said, and leaned forward on the counter. "Come on, show me what you can do!"

Karai then sucked in some air and let out a burp as brief and light as the snap of a twig. Leonardo stifled a snicker, touched by the cuteness of it. So she _was_ a bit like a girl sometimes after all…

"Not bad, not bad. But you have to _feel_ it. Next time, try using your diaphragm," Mikey advised generously.

"Lemme try that again."

And this time they all gawped in awe at the sound coming out of Karai's mouth, as powerful and resounding as a trombone, and if she hadn't been right before their noses they would've thought a burly truck driver with a beer belly had just come through the door. Leo's expression was a colorful blend of many contradicting emotions. His smile had been torn right off, transferred right onto Mikey's face which was alight with jubilation.

"That was amazing, big sis!" Mikey exclaimed. "With a little technique, you could be second best! I shall train you in my ways!"

"Arigato gozaimasu," Karai pronounced ceremoniously, both palms pressed together and bowing her head like after combat.

Splinter looked around the room and smiled optimistically, his eyes lingering on the content smirk on his daughter's face as the others clapped and cheered. He congratulated Murakami for his vision, and the man nodded confidently.

 _All is well_ , he thought warmly, and he gave himself permission to relax for the rest of the evening as plate after plate came and went until eventually Murakami announced the close.

"What's this? All the food is gone?" Michelangelo gasped dramatically before yelling "Not on my watch!" and he suddenly bolted from his seat with the fanfare of a superhero to retrieve his surprise, which was sitting in a corner.

" _More_ food? I'm going to burst" April said lethargically. "How can you guys fit so much under those plastrons?" She went on, genuinely amazed though not surprised. She'd seen the turtles eat too many times to ever be surprised again.

Donnie chuckled beside her. "If you'd spent fifteen years of your life feeding on algae and worms you would understand."

April winced in sympathy and gave his arm a few compassionate rubs, eliciting a sheepish chuckle.

"Feast your eyes! And then your mouths!" Mikey announced triumphantly, unveiling what closely resembled a cake and placing it on the counter as everyone leaned in to take a closer look. It was a scary looking cake with red, crooked letters decorating the white frosting.

"What's it say? 'Happy Sens'?" Leonardo said, squinting at the barely intelligible writing.

"'Happy Sensei Day', duh. I just couldn't fit the entire thing on the top, so…" Mikey turned the cake around, showing them the rest of the letters written on the side.

"It looks like something Chucky would cook."

Raph's observation earned him a few laughs.

"Hey! I made this cake, I can take away your cake privileges, bro!"

"That's probably saving me a few trips to the toilet, so thanks!"

Splinter intervened with an authoritative voice.

"Raphael, Michelangelo made this with love and generosity."

"And knowing him, probably lint from the crevices of his shell too."

Casey gave a loud guffaw at that.

"That's disgusting, man!" he laughed, and unlike the rest, he seemed absolutely delighted with the mental image it evoked.

"Fine, you don't get a piece either," Mikey grumbled, protectively sliding the cake away from the pair.

"They're only joking, Mikey," April said sweetly one hand on his shell. "I'll try it."

"Wait, sensei has to cut it!"

"Use Leo's sword!" Casey proposed.

"What? No!" Leo exclaimed, horrified by the notion.

"It's only cake, it's cut grosser stuff. I say go for it," Karai said, and the turtle in blue didn't have it in him to contradict her, especially after seeing his master's face as he looked at his daughter, an ample smile under his snout. Leo obliged and tossed Splinter his niten ryu.

Splinter wielded the sword in a ritualistic manner and cocked the cake's plate in one smooth swing of the blade, spinning it like a deranged merry-go-round covered in fondant. He raised the sword over his head and brought it down multiple times at lighting speed. When the cake stopped turning, it was perfectly sliced in equal portions. Then, using the blade as a spatula he distributed the pieces to each of the platters and ceremoniously cleaned it with a napkin like a samurai after a kill before giving it back to Leonardo.

"Don't worry, Leo. Someday you too will cut cakes like sensei," Karai teased at the look of admiration on the turtle's face as he slid the blade back into its sheath. She took a couple of servings and handed one to Leo, keeping the other.

"Thanks." He took the plate, his lips pursed in mock annoyance.

"Come on, Raph," April said, handing him the piece of cake. Raphael shrugged.

"Eh, I'll take my chances," he said, accepting the plate and taking a forkful. "Mm! Hey! Whaddya know, it's actually good!"

"Yeah, I mean it's not winning any pageants," Donnie said, turning his plate around to look at the red scribbles on his slice, "but it's beautiful on the inside."

The rest of them seemed to agree and Mikey gave a disgruntled sigh.

"I followed the recipe, like I promised. No extra ingredients for you lame squares."

"Thank you, Michelangelo," Splinter said kindly, laying one fatherly hand on his son's shoulder. "That means a lot."

"Okay, and now that we all have cake, we can take out the presents!" Mikey yelled, sprinting off to one corner of the room for the second time that night with the piece of cake in his hand singing "gotta get a gi- gotta get a gi- gotta get a gift for Splinter!". There he slapped away the drapes to uncover a long package propped against the window and he was back in the shake of a turtle's tail, setting the package on the table in front of his father, who scowled disapprovingly.

"I told you boys, no presents on Sensei Day."

"We made an exception this one time," Donatello said before putting the fork back in his mouth and chewing happily.

"Open it, sensei!" Mikey cried hopping on his heels, unable to contain his excitement.

Splinter shook his head, but there was a small smile on his snout as he started peeling off the modest red wrapping.

"Happy Sensei Day!" they yelled in unison when the package finally lay unwrapped in Splinter's claws as he gazed down upon it, knowing what this object was the very instant he set eyes on it.

"The sword of Yurikawa…" Splinter breathed in awe.

"We all contributed, but Karai was the one who found it," April chimed in right away.

"This… must have cost a fortune," Splinter said in all confusion, a concerned crinkle on his brow.

"Not really..."

"Yeah, we stole it," Karai said lightly and Splinter bristled.

"You _stole-_?!"

"She's joking, sensei! Honest!" Leo quickly interjected looking positively mortified and Karai exploded in laughter at her father's face of utmost horror.

"No, but you could say it was a _steal_. I saw it in this antique store," she explained, still laughing. "The owner thought it was just an antique sword like any other, but I recognized it immediately. This thing belongs in a museum. If the idiot knew she was practically giving away such a valuable piece..." Karai seemed all too proud of the way she had rickroll'd that woman, taking advantage of her ignorance. Still, she had done nothing illegal… But Leo would've certainly offered a bit more if only out of pity.

Splinter regarded the sword with moist eyes, unsheathing it and running his fingers along the cool, engraved surface of the blade. He lifted his eyes to see all his sons and daughters standing quietly on either sides of him, watching him with loving eyes full of self-satisfaction. They could never know just how much _he_ loved _them_ , but he hoped his smile and his glossy eyes would give them a small insight. When his gaze met Karai's, he presented her with the tiniest of nods, and felt a warmth swell in his center when she returned it, beaming.

"Thank you," he said slowly, carefully so his voice wouldn't break. "Nothing makes me happier than being here surrounded by my family. I speak nothing but the truth when I say I would not have it any other way. I will guard this for its value, but I will treasure it because it came from you all, my children."

"Oh man, Sensei, that was so pretty!" Mikey gulped after a short silence and he promptly threw himself face first into Splinter's robes. Immediately everybody else did the same, stools knocked aside, one by one wrapping themselves around the growing cornucopia of family love until they were but a giant, giggly, teary lump of mostly mutants in the middle of the noodle bar.

"My children," Splinter repeated, voice cracking under seven different pairs of arms as Murakami smiled from the side like he could see each and every happy face.

Donatello was the first to waggle himself out of the bundle to quickly pull out his T-Phone.

"You guys, this is what I call a Kodak moment."

"A what kind of moment?" Mikey asked waiting for the lump to slowly dissolve before being able to disengage himself from his master.

"It's a joke. Though, I admit, kind of outdated…"

"Picture time, Mikey," Raphael clarified.

"Alright! Picture time!" Mikey shouted, and he moved to join everybody already in position around their sensei, practically jumping on top of the counter.

"Hold up your sword, Master Splinter," Donnie asked while he calibrated the phone and set it on a counter opposite them, with a timer set to ten seconds. "There."

"Join us, Murakami-san!" Mikey said as Donatello hurried back to occupy his place in the group of people all scrunched together in a bundle and getting Casey's arm thrown across his shoulders.

"Oh, this is a family thi-" Murakami couldn't finish the sentence, Mikey having just yanked his arm after climbing over the bar to make him join them at the last second.

"Say gyoza!" Mikey yelled.

"GYOZA!"

* * *

Bellies full and plates licked clean, dinner finally came to a lazy end.

"All gone," Mikey groaned around the last mouthful of cake, drowsily patting his taut stomach.

"Man, I hope we left something for tomorrow's customers, Murakami-san," Donnie said looking exhausted, and he pulled on the edge of his belt in a futile attempt to loosen it over his stuffed middle.

"Don't worry, there's plenty. I planned ahead," Murakami said with a knowing smirk.

With so much food weighing them down, it was a good thing they wouldn't be patrolling tonight. But even though none of them was in a hurry to get to sleep, seeing as how most of their activities took place during the night anyway, April and Casey still had class the very next morning. And as Splinter pointed out, Mr. Murakami still had much to do before locking up.

"Don't worry, Murakami-san, we got this!" Donnie said, stopping the old man from taking his empty plate. He heaved himself and his full stomach off the stool and started making a tall pile of dishes to carry over to the sink. Leonardo sprang from his own stool to mimic him, followed by April, who had been absentmindedly staring into empty space until she saw Donatello move.

"Oh, thank you boys, that's not necessary."

"We insist. It's the least we could do," Leo said cordially, pulling Raph and Mikey to their feet to get them to help too.

"Yeah, alright," Raph agreed half-heartedly.

With everybody helping, the place was soon close to ready for another day of business.

"Such good boys. You taught them well, Hamato-sensei."

"Yes, well…We could always work on those table manners," Splinter said, recalling the burping contest with a disapproving wiggle of his whiskers.

"A trifle, really. Thank you for coming, Splinter-san," Murakami said in his mother tongue and with a short bow.

"Thank you for the delicious meal, Murakami-san. It was a real pleasure meeting you at last."

"Same here. I hope to have you over again soon."

"You will, but next time I expect you let us pay for the food."

Murakami chuckled deviously.

"We'll see."

"All finished," Leonardo said, putting down the sponge and untying his apron. "Another job well done, turtles."

There was a general sigh of relief and Murakami thanked them all for their help before they finally made to leave.

"Don't forget your present, Sensei," Mikey said.

"Never," Splinter replied, holding the sword close.

"Alright, all clear," said the leader in blue, his head peeking out the front door and signalling the others to follow suit. By the time they made it to the nearest manhole it was already past midnight.

"Well, this is us," Leo announced to the humans as Raph slid open the heavy cover, the metal raking noisily on the concrete ground.

"I had a great time, guys."

"Night, April!" came the chorus' reply.

"Happy Sensei Day, Master Splinter," she said, giving the rat a hug.

"Goodnight, child. See you tomorrow for training?"

"Oh, sorry, I don't think I'll make it tomorrow. But the day after?"

Splinter nodded his head and set to follow Leonardo down the ladder.

"Don't forget our date with the Purple Dragons tomorrow, Raph," Casey said to Raph, offering his hand.

"Wouldn't want to leave our friends hanging," Raph replied, a fiendish grin on his face and they both shared their private bro handshake before the turtle jumped inside the manhole. The rest said their goodbyes before following Raph down the chute one by one.

"Holy crap, it's late," April said urgently, looking at her T-Phone after watching Karai climb down, leaving only Donnie and the two humans. "I gotta get to bed or I'll never be able to wake up tomorrow."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. She'd gotten used to sleeping less ever since she started hanging out with the turtles in their rather nocturnal habits. But if tonight was going to be anything like the previous several nights, she would be waking up to her dad's screams several times before her alarm clock rang.

"I'll walk ya," Casey offered and April didn't need to look at Donnie to see the slightly envious squint of his eyes.

"Sure, Casey."

Casey turned to Donatello and gave him a resounding smack on his shell.

"Maybe next time, Stick Master."

"Right. Good one," the turtle grumbled drily.

"Come on, Don, I'm just teasin'."

Donnie gave a resigned roll of his eyes but grinned as they gave each other a routine fist bump. He knew he was at least telling the truth there, even when to him there was nothing funny to begin with.

"Later, man."

"Bye, Case. Oh, and gimme a call when you're up for that study session," Donnie said, speaking to the two humans.

Casey groaned and April shoved him along, turning to reply to Donatello.

"We will, Donnie. Thanks a lot."

And she draped her arms around him. It wasn't by far the first time she had done that. But this particular goodnight hug lasted a beat longer than usual, and being Donnie of course he noticed. At this point though, he could at most wonder what it meant, or if it even meant something. As they broke apart, April dedicated him the warmest of smiles, but her eyes were downcast for some reason. This was going to keep him up at night, he just knew it.

"Night, Don," she said and then she was off.

"Night, April," he said softly more to himself than anything else, which kept him distracted from the wary look on Casey's eyes before he, too, turned to leave following April down the street. Donatello watched them go side by side, almost expecting them to hold hands at any given moment. He still couldn't help the heavy feeling in his chest. Oh, how he wished to be able to just walk down the street with April at his side like that.

The feel of April's arms around his neck had been burned into his skin, and immediately he began categorizing all the possible causes and implications. It had just been a couple seconds longer than usual, and perhaps a couple of pascal units tighter, but he was almost certain there was some kind of hidden meaning behind it.

"Coming, D?"

Donnie snapped back to reality, whipping his neck around to Mikey's head peeking out from the manhole.

"Uh, yeah" he called out and in one hop disappeared into the swampy dark below the city surface, the cover sliding back to its place.

* * *

"Everything alright, Red?"

April lifted her gaze from the concrete sidewalk she was treading on to meet Casey's, a look of surprise in her clear eyes. He'd been talking about the latest patrol nights with Raph, and he had his hockey stick out to reenact some of the fight scenes, giving the occasional finger at whoever stuck their head out the window whining about the noise. But April didn't look too involved, simply dropping an absent "uh-huh" every now and then.

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"You seem a little distracted. Were you even listening to what I was saying?"

"Uh, you were talking about you and Raph…"

Casey stared intently, waiting for her to finish with raised eyebrows.

"And… hockey?"

"You know, if I was a girl and you were a dude, I'd be acting very offended right now."

April gave a loud sigh.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"'Bout what?

The girl vacillated.

"About that movie…" she lied.

" _Starvation Run_?" Casey inquired suspiciously after a few seconds of thinking back to Murakami's.

She nodded but didn't look half convinced.

"Yep."

"What about it?"

"Nothing, just that it sounded interesting. I haven't seen it yet" she said dismissively.

"Well, maybe we could watch the movies together. I heard they were playing a marathon at the Argosy" Casey proposed as they both turned the corner, April's building already visible from there. "Now that New York is back on its feet, we can catch up on all the dates you owe me."

To his surprise, the snide remark that usually followed his date requests did not come. Instead, Casey saw April bite her lip.

"Actually, I was waiting for you to ask."

The words hit him like a baseball to the mouth, making him halt his steps briefly. At this point he had been flirting out of pure habit. He had _not_ been expecting that. But April was still walking, so he pranced to catch up with her, almost tripping over his hockey stick.

"Wait, what? Seriously?"

"Yeah! You're right, we should hang out!".

"That's... great!" he said, not entirely sure why her excitement didn't seem all that authentic. He decided it was probably his imagination. This was April asking him for a date! Kind of… "Is that what this was all about?"

"What do you mean?" she retorted, already on the defensive.

"Well, you've been acting weird all night. Were you nervous about asking the cool kid for a date?" he asked playfully, leaning on his hockey stick when they finally came to a halt at her doorstep.

"Cute, Jones. Always the modest one" she said through a lopsided grin. "So what do you say?"

"Wait, we're talking about a real, actual, official... _date,_ right?"

"Yep."

For a moment, Casey only gave April a skeptical frown.

"With like… romantic stuff?" he crooned finally, already back in the game and wiggling his eyebrow.

April crossed her arms in an authoritative posture.

"If you promise to take a shower first."

"Hey! I shower!"

"Yeah, every solstice…", a snarky grin spread through her face.

"That is neither true nor funny. But consider it done, Red!"

"And it wouldn't hurt you to wear something besides that T-shirt, either."

"Fine! I'll see what I can snatch from my dad's closet. Any more requests, commander O'Neil, sir?" Casey joked, standing on attention.

"That's madam to you, soldier."

"Madam, yes, madam. Any more requests, madam?"

"Yeah" April laughed. "Don't be too late."

"You got it, madam! So what time would you like Casey Jones to pick you up?"

"How about tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure- Oh…" Casey interrupted himself, suddenly remembering. "Aw, man!"

"What?"

Casey winced, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"The thing is... I was already going to hang out with Raph. We were going to go pick on the Purple Dragons."

"You mean the same thing you do every other day?" She wasn't sure why this bothered her. Maybe after all his insistence, she was expecting a bit more commitment on his part. She knew for a fact that Casey had a personal vendetta with Hun after he mopped the floors with him that day and then many times since, and he'd been tirelessly pressing on the matter these past few weeks. He could be quite boneheaded when he set his mind to it.

"It's not what you think, okay?" he retorted as if he'd read her mind, but then he saw the unconvinced look on her face. "Or, well… not entirely."

He faltered, sensing irritation.

"Look, we've been spying on them lately and we think they might be onto something, so we were going to go check it out. I was telling you about it before, but I guess you didn't hear me..."

"Fine, we can do it some other time. Think you can squeeze me into in your tight schedule somewhere?"

Casey appraised April. She seemed really tense, probably even ticked, and he couldn't be sure why. He quickly tried to make amends.

"Uh, you know what? I'll tell Raph we can do that some other time."

She gave a sigh of exasperation. And no, it wasn't because of Casey, she thought. This was all her, being stressed out and confused and who knows what more. What was up with her tonight? Oh, that's right…

April paused and gathered herself before continuing, a tad more levelheaded.

"No, you don't have to… Ugh, sorry, Casey. I didn't mean to be a jerk, we'll just hang out another day."

"No, no! Tomorrow's great, really!" Casey said, a hint of hesitation in his voice that didn't entirely convince April.

"Are you sure? What about Raph?"

"Don't worry about it, he won't mind."

"Really." It wasn't a question so much as a sarcastic statement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! So what time?" he insisted almost desperately.

"Well, I was going to go with Karai to this hair stylist she recommended. We could meet at the swings at 5?"

"It's a date" he said, and winked for full effect.

April nodded her head, sealing the deal with a little smile, and that did it for Casey. This was April, and she was finally going to give him a chance. He beamed back at her before she turned to insert her keys into the lock, and then she paused.

"Can I just ask something?" she said, swiveling on the spot. "Could we not mention this to the guys just yet?"

Casey frowned.

"Oh… why?"

April's fingers fidgeted nervously with her keys.

"I don't want them to make a big deal out of it yet."

Casey thought to himself how the only one who was making a big deal out of this was April herself, by asking him to keep it a secret. He wished she would just go ahead and say "I don't want Donnie to know yet" instead of beating around the bush. He would've told her too if it wasn't for that tired expression on her face. He had to admit, this slightly tainted the prospect of a date with April, but he decided to let this one slide for tonight and see where she went with this. Even when he had a strange feeling that there was more to all this than April let out.

He promised he wouldn't tell and she said goodnight from her door before closing it behind her.

Casey had been waiting for this moment forever. So why didn't it feel amazing?

* * *

On the other side of the planet, in Japan, Hachisu-no-Hana kneeled in front of her clan's _butsudan_ , an altar containing dozens of _ihai_. These spirit tablets were the only vestige of the lost members of the clan, the only family she'd known, struck down unjustly by a dishonorable enemy.

It had been a long time since Hachisu had been the treasured flower of the Lotus, years ago when she was a child, before she'd even begun training as future _kunoichi_. Those happy days full of promise were long gone, and now that she had been proclaimed the _kashira_ , leader of the clan, she was responsible for its decimated remains.

Their home burned to ashes, the remaining Lotus had been forced into hiding. They had found an old abandoned villa in the countryside and conditioned it to their needs, cleaning out the stables and laying out tatami floors to train on. They improvised futons to sleep on and repaired the house's leaks and cracks much in the same way they were trying to fix their own broken spirits. Pushing on, taking refuge on routine.

As she breathed in the burning incense, she visualized the essence of her ancestors soaking through her, giving her strength, and she meditated about the near future when she'd be leading her people through what would likely be their last mission.

And maybe that was best.

As far as she was concerned, there was no better way to die, restoring the honor of the clan in a final blaze of glory, avenging the dozens upon dozens of innocent lives the Foot Clan had taken. This last time they wouldn't fail. She wouldn't fail.

Her eyes drifted away from the altar, and she opened her hand to look at the little trinket contained in it. The pendant's intricate carvings and ornaments were imprinted on the reddened skin of her calloused palm. She hadn't realised how tightly she'd been holding it. Wearily she regarded the object, feeling the presence within, snaking its way up her arm and enveloping itself all around her. A shiver ran up her spine. It still made her uneasy.

"Kashira" came a hushed voice behind her and she started, quickly hiding the pendant in the sash of her uniform in a reflex. She then turned to see her second in command kneeling before her and waiting for an acknowledgement.

"What is it, Jiro?" she asked, her voice terse, hardened by years under the crushing weight of command. The old man had once been her teacher, before she was proclaimed leader. She could tell his joints hurt from kneeling on the floor like that, but he would not have it any other way.

Jiro lifted his eyes but didn't look directly at her like he used to, instead maintaining his head bowed in a show of respect. "We have received word on the whereabouts of Oroku Saki."

The kashira sat up straight.

"He is operating in New York."

"Are you certain of this?" she demanded in a voice that only barely revealed the agitation under the stoic exterior, like a treacherous current at the bottom of a calm ocean surface.

Jiro only nodded curtly and the silence that followed told her he was waiting for her to give the word.

"Then we must communicate it to rest of the clan. Call a meeting" Hachisu ordered, rising to her feet.

Jiro gave a final nod and followed the woman out the door.

Once everybody was gathered in the common room, all fifteen remaining clan members kneeling on the tatami before their kashira, Hachisu motioned for her second in command to announce the news.

As the information sunk in, the emotions on the faces of Hachisu's followers went quickly from shock to an unabashed fury, and at the mention of Oroku Saki's name, more than one pair of eyes ignited with a lust for combat. The youngest of them trembled with excitement.

"So what in hell are we waiting for?" exclaimed a young man barely sprouting his first facial hairs.

"Wakai! Watch your language! We are not in a tavern. Furthermore, we cannot be hasty about this" yelled Jiro with exceptional firmness, but it wasn't enough to placate a boy's anger. The novice disregarded the old man's words.

"Hasu," said the boy, inappropriately using Hachisu's pet name, "those miserable dogs will disappear again if we don't hurry! We _must_ be hasty! Ruthless! We can't let them escape this time! We should slice their throats on sight and make the Shredder and his followers die the slow, dishonorable death that they deserve, let their bodies rot among their own waste, like the scum they are-"

"Silence." Hachisu barely needed to raise her voice. The room fell into a stillness so deep under her glare that they could almost hear each others' racing heartbeats. "This attitude will jeapordize our clan's integrity, and their lives. Learn to contain it. I will not say this again."

The young man gaped, stunned by his clan sister's sudden rigid approach towards him when they had always been so close, until he too lowered his head in submission.  
"Hai, kashira."

"You are ninja now. A soldier. You will go by our protocols."

"Hai, kashira."

The next words were directed to the whole of the group.

"We are not dirty thieves that go about 'slicing the necks' of our enemy. They will die as they must, but let it not be said that the Lotus Clan didn't give them an honorable death."

"You think these Foot Clan weasels deserve to die with honor?" said another _shinobi_ , a veteran of the clan pushing fifty, his square face weathered by decades of service.

Jiro answered for Hasu.

"It doesn't matter if they deserve it or not, Iwao. What is important is that history knows that the clan who defeated Oroku Saki was a true ninja clan. It's not about their honor, but ours; the honor of the Lotus Clan. We can never forget that."

"Kashira." The soft voice came from a doe-eyed young girl about the age of Wakai. Hachisu, adrift in her own thoughts, lifted her eyes from her knees at the sound. "Will this be the end of our clan?"

Hachisu held the girl in her gaze. Despite her sweet appearance, she had always been cunning as a _kitsune_ , and now she was asking that one question which, deep down, everybody dreaded hearing out loud as much the inescapable answer.

"Maybe, Atsuko" Hachisu said at length. "But not without a fight. Not without first doing our best to cut off the head of Oroku Saki and offering it to our fallen brothers and sisters."

Atsuko nodded without a hint of doubt or fear. Her integrity became an example for the rest of them. The young woman showed them with one simple gesture that there was nothing else they needed to know and no more questions to ask, and that it was simply the time to act.

They turned their attention then to Hachisu, who once again appeared deep in thought as she caressed the side of her sash. Hachisu's gesture and odd silence rose a wave of unease in Jiro's gut, like something was not right. She'd been acting strangely as of late. He tried to regain her attention while concealing his own turmoil.

"Kashira?"

"Yes, Jiro" Hachisu said, her thoughts finally back in the room with them and taking her hand down from her sash to rest on her thigh.

"What must we do?"

"You know what we must do, my faithful Jiro" she said, then turned to the other loyal faces around the room. "We will leave for New York at dawn. Once there we will see, and may our ancestors guide us."

"So be it, kashira" said Jiro.

She contemplated her followers in silence and with one final nod she brought the meeting to an end, silently giving permission for them to go. Jiro bowed, a gesture that was mimicked by all the others before they all rose and made to leave.

One by one they walked out and soon Hachisu was alone again, listening to their voices as they made their way through the courtyard.

"You're going to spend the rest of the day cleaning the dojo. And don't let me catch you with that infernal game device on our trip or I will set fire to it" she heard Jiro scold Wakai, as well as Wakai's subsequent groan of defeat. The corners of her mouth flicked upwards for a split second.

When their voices faded, she took out the pendant from her sash and held it in her palm, studying it.

If it wasn't so crazy, she could've sworn the pendant had stirred the moment she said the name of Oroku Saki out loud, as if what was inside had shaken like a wounded bird at the mention of its predator. Clearly recent events had disturbed it.

"You must find him, Hachisu-no-Hana. He must die."

Her breath caught in her chest and she felt her own blood grow cold. There was nobody in the room, but she had heard it as clear as if it had been whispered in her ear, or even… inside her own head. She couldn't know for sure. Yet she gave the pendant a squeeze, because this she knew:

"It's you again, isn't it?" she asked the emptiness as levelly as she could, but the only answer was the frigid grip of ghostly fingers on her shoulders. She slumped and tensed under the invisible weight.

"He will die. He will pay" she choked. This anger and this sadness that she was feeling weren't just hers anymore. The emotions oozed from the pendant now gripped between her fingers and digging into her palm, and they coursed through her veins as though they were her own. Like the ringing in her ears after a deafening sound, the voice was back.

"I'm counting on it, Hachisu-no-Hana."

A lock of black hair fell over her face and Hasu shut her eyes tight when she realized it wasn't hers.

"You can't fail."

"I won't." And it was just as much a promise to herself as it was to the soul whose feelings of betrayal could barely be contained in that tiny, chipped piece of ceramic.

Slowly, as though reassured by her promise, the weight on her shoulders receded and she was finally able to move. She stood and scrambled over to the adjacent room to place the pendant in the little wooden box covered with engraved _ofuda_ , sealing it closed with a hasty click. She let out a breath of relief as momentarily she felt the pressure wane.

The chill running through her bones, however, took a while longer to dissipate.

* * *

 **That's it for chapter 1! Let us know what you thought of it, feedback is welcome!**

 **A huge thank you to our beta reader Queequegg. Thank you guuuurl!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woo!**

 **First of all, thank you guys for the all the favs and especially for all the reviews. They mean a lot to us and they help keep us motivated. Feedback is also appreciated, so keep those reviews coming!**

 **We're also making the chapters shorter from now on. The good thing is that we'll probably be updating a tad more frequently because of that.**

 **Still building up the setting here, so it's going to be a fairly light-hearted chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Raph could tell it was morning both by the sounds of activity going on outside his door and the tense discomfort in his bladder. Groggily he kicked off the bundle of sheets tangled around his legs and rolled off his bed. He scooted for the bathroom through the hallway and across the common room and a wave of distress slapped him in the face when he found the door was locked from the inside.

"Who's in there? I really need in!" he cried, knocking on the wooden surface.

"It's me!" said Karai's voice.

"And me!"

Raph reeled at the sound of Mikey's voice also coming from beyond the door.

"Are you both in there?" he shrieked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I'm doing my makeup while also providing Mikey with some emotional support."

"It's stuuuuck," Mikey whined pitifully, after which Raph heard him groan in effort.

Oh, crap. Literally. Nevermind that this seemed so wrong, they were also going to take forever and he really needed to go.

"Hey Raph, while you're waiting, write down whole-wheat cereal on the shopping list! Mikey needs more fiber!"

"Can you put that on pizza?"

Raphael grimaced considering the implications. "YOU'RE DISGUSTING! Come out and do that yourselves! It's my turn!"

"Your turn was fifteen minutes ago, Raph. You skipped it so now you have to wait."

"I'm gonna burst!"

"Tell it to the bathroom schedule."

"YOU PIECES OF-"

Raph growled in frustration, giving the piece of paper nailed to the door a look of pure hatred, maybe hoping it would spontaneously disintegrate by the sheer intensity of his glare. If not, he would just shred that stupid bathroom schedule into confetti and throw it on Karai's stuck-up face.

"Dude, just go in the sewers!" Mikey's voice said.

"What?! I'll dump YOU both in the sewers!"

"This is what happens when you don't follow the bathroom schedule, Raph," Leonardo said coolly behind him as he passed by with an empty cup of tea.

"Oh, bite me, Leo. You always get up two hours before any of us do, you fanatic."

"Early bird gets the worm," Leo said with a smug smile, walking away. "Or in this case the.."

"Ugh, just shuttuuuup," Raphael groaned. "I mean, seriously! One bathroom for a family of six?!"

That's it! They didn't need a bathroom schedule; they needed a second bathroom.

At that very moment, Donatello made to walk by with a fresh cup of coffee and his laptop.

"Hey Donnie, you know, we're definitely gonna need you to build another bathroom."

"Sure thing, Raph. Would you like one jacuzzi or two?" Donnie replied in the sweetest voice before grievance took over his features. "I'm not your plumber! I have more important things to do!"

"What are you talking about! This is extremely important!" Raph's legs curled around his own crotch, his voice coming out a bit squeakier than he would've liked.

"If you think so, pick up a manual, or find a tutorial on youtube, and do it yourself! Or just follow the bathroom schedule..." Donnie concluded gracefully, heading for his lab and sipping on his fuming coffee, clearly having no time for this crap.

"Aarrgghh! If I hear any of you say bathroom schedule again I'm gonna-"

And a fraction of a second before Raph would've popped a vein, the bathroom door swung open and out came Karai and one ecstatic-looking Mikey.

"All yours, big guy," she sneered, only growing more amused the angrier Raph looked.

He scrunched up his face in disgust and defeat as the odors from within hit his nostrils. He could almost feel a little part of his brain rot away instantly. How could she be in there for so long and not drop dead?

"Dude, put some clothes on, I can see your elbows!" Mikey gasped like a Victorian dame. "And your knees!"

"Shut up already, Roger Rabbit! What are you, girlfriends with Karai now?!"

Raph swung, but Mikey was too quick and he was in too much of a hurry, so he allowed his clown of a little brother to roll away inside his shell. It was at times like these that Raph wished he were an only child, he thought gloomily as he scrambled inside locking the door behind him.

Karai then strolled her way towards Leo, who was just back from the kitchen, and smacked his lower shell lightly with Mikey's magazine before setting it down on the bench.

"Morning, Leo! Ready for another training session where I profusely kick your shell?"

The turtle adopted his most indignant Queen Leo expression and headed for the dojo without another word.

* * *

The paper screens never were all that good at blocking the noise, but Splinter still paid little to no attention to the screams and the insults -a routine side effect of being the father of a bunch of teenagers- as he balanced the Sword of Yurikawa on his palms, weighing it. It must have been the fifth time he had performed all the various quality tests, but it was so satisfying how perfectly balanced and how excellent the overall craft was. The master ninja swung the sword around in a flourish, the metal singing through the air as though slicing it, before lovingly sliding it back into its sheath.

He lingered there, gazing at the object as if he could see his children's faces on it. And Miwa… It had been her idea. The thought stirred a well of warmth inside him.

There wasn't a day in which Miwa didn't do something that reminded Splinter of her mother. Whether it was her tendency to hide behind a mask of strength and composure, or a simple gesture, Splinter marvelled at how amazingly similar they were. She couldn't possibly remember seeing Tang Shen do those things. However did she acquire such mannerisms?

There was only one place worthy of his newest treasure. He had already prepared the space on the wall just above the dojo's kamidana, and he stretched to gently let the sword sit on the hanger. Like a guardian of the rest of his keepsakes and souvenirs, each holding a cherished memory. And once again, after seventeen years, the current Miwa was a part of it all, in the picture from the previous night that Donatello had printed, and in the fine weapon that had made her think of him.

Splinter nodded his head in approval at the ensemble just in time to greet the turtles, his daughter and Casey, who were at that moment entering the dojo all prepared for their daily warm-up and training.

"Good morning, my sons and daughter. Are you ready for today's training?"

"You're in a merry mood today, sensei," Donatello observed, smiling in reaction to Splinter's cheerful tone and pose, his ears pointing straight upwards and his hands held loosely behind his back in a carefree manner.

"After our little party last night, how I could I not be?" Splinter said, wiggling his whiskers with satisfaction.

"I see you've made some rearrangements to the kamidana," Leo added, signalling towards the shelf.

"Ah, you've noticed. Yes. Your gifts had to occupy their rightful place among my dearest possessions, of course."

The whole of the group approached the kamidana to better see the new additions, pausing to revisit the older elements as well. There was the turtle tank where they had all swam once as babies, all those years ago, and it seemed impossible that they had even fit in something so tiny. Especially lanky Donatello…

Displayed were also Splinter's old photos, sole proof of his past life, his human self posing next to Tang Shen and a baby Karai. And now the Sword of Yurikawa and the new family picture from the celebration at Murakami's, with every member present, were part of this miniature museum of Splinter's life.

"It came out nice! Flattering!" Mikey said, pointing at all the smiling faces in the photograph.

"Yeah, except for that hobo that photobombed us. When did that happen? Oh, nevermind, it's just Casey," Raph said through a scathing grin. The joke received the approval of the siblings, who all broke into thunderous laughter.

Casey, who had that day decided to skip first period after all and come to the training as audience, let out a menacing growl that only spread Raph's smile wider still. Splinter imposed order with a dry clap of his hands and the youngsters all went immediately silent, even when a few tears of laughter still ran down some of their cheeks and it was hard to keep composure.

"Alright, there has been enough lollygagging. Let us begin."

"Hai, sensei!" they all replied in unison, bowing before their master. All except Casey, of course… Splinter gave each sibling a curt nod indicating their positions, and shot another one at Casey, signalling a corner where he could settle in and watch, and he was in such good mood that not the faintest trace of disapproval crossed his features at the boy's casual disregard for protocol.

* * *

It was a Friday, so April wouldn't be showing up at the lair until much later, if at all. Casey, however, considered hanging out in Raph's room would be a much better use of his time than sitting at a desk having complex equations go in one of his ears and come out the other. Even after Raph's insulting joke, the notion of reconsidering and going to class instead of hanging out was outmatched by his deep dislike of Algebra. If he was feeling pissed at Raph, they could always smack it out of each other. But he couldn't fight equations, and throwing the book across the room was never satisfying enough.

Because the turtles had just come out of training, there was a pungent smell of sweat in the air, probably accentuated by the flapping of Raph's arms as he pounded away at his drum set in the enclosed space of his bedroom. Meanwhile Casey lay on Raph's bed, drawing in his sketchbook.

Casey didn't mind the smell of macho. He was more than used to it and he associated it with good things, like hockey, or spending hours beating the crap out of thugs with Raphael. If anything, it inspired him, and he was currently in the zone, his pencil scribbling away so fervently the paper could catch fire.

The best thing was, he had the perfect anatomy model right there in the room with him. Casey had to admit, Raph was packing a fairly impressive set of guns. Funny how there was a lot more Raph in these pages than even April, he thought. But then again he always preferred drawing testosterony things like monsters and big, brawny dudes, and Raph could count as both.

Damn! That reminded him…

"By the way, Raph. Can we-" he stopped short when he realised Raph couldn't even hear him over the deafening drum solo. Casey took off a shoe and hurled it at him. The shoe reached its target and the noise died instantly.

"What gives, Jones!" Raph yelled rubbing the side of his head.

"Yeah, uh, I almost forgot to tell you, I can't make it tonight. We'll have to kick Purple Dragon ass another time."

Raph put down his drumsticks.

"What? But we already knew where these guys would be tonight, remember? We spent an entire afternoon following them around for this!"

"We'll do it again tomorrow! It can't be that urgent."

"What the hell, man. You never skip on a good beating. Especially not with the Purple Dragons."

"Yeah, I just got this… commitment." Casey winced. He really was trying hard not to give it away like April asked.

"Commitment? With who?" Raph said and threw him back his shoe. "You don't make commitments! Not unless they involve busting some heads."

Casey finished putting on his shoe without bothering to untie the laces first. He was this close to lying for April, but he figured it couldn't hurt to tell Raph. In truth it could hurt not telling him, as the knowledge of having been lied to would surely provoke his fury. He'd been dying to tell someone anyway.

"Uh, well… Don't spread this around, okay? But April and I kind of have a date today. I'm gonna meet her at five."

Raph's eyebrows quirked. He looked surprised and a little taken aback.

"Oh," he said a little too casually. "Okay. Well, why didn't you just say so?"

Casey gave a non-committing shrug and tried to make himself look distracted with his drawings.

"I dunno, cuz… This is my first real date with April, you know? It's a big deal." He deliberately left out the part where April practically begged him not to tell anyone.

"So you had to keep it a secret?"

"Not a secret, okay? We just didn't wanna call attention to it."

"Does Donnie know?"

Casey felt his stomach drop at the mention of Donatello, and he wasn't even sure whether it was because of guilt or annoyance or both.

"I dunno, I… I didn't tell him…And April asked me not to, so..."

Raph sighed, which only made Casey more nervous.

"Dude, what do you want? It's not like I'm making April do this, you know? She asked me. And Donnie'll just have to deal."

Raphael puffed.

"Look, I'm not my brother's nanny, alright? He can take care of himself," he said in a bad attempt at appearing level-headed.

"Okay…" Casey wasn't the most observant of persons, but it didn't take a genius to know Raph was peeved. He tried to think of something to say that could ease the tension. "Well… maybe you can help me out! Look! What do you think of this shirt?"

Raph gave Casey's forced cheerfulness a leveled stare as the kid took out the crumpled garment out of his bag and slipped it on over his other T-shirt, after which he stood, showcasing the combination to his audience. But the audience was clearly not in the mood for a show.

"I dunno what to tell ya, man. I mean, it's got sleeves, it's got the tiny buttons on the front."

"Come on, man. I took this out of my old man's closet. You think she'll like it?"

"Do I look like I would know anything about shirts or girls?" he grumbled out as he walked around his drum set to head for the exit, his mouth a straight line. "Imma take a shower, if the bathroom schedule will allow it."

"Wait! Raph!" Casey called after the turtle, and was met with a stiff glare. "Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone, okay? If anyone asks, I'm at the rink, or out with you or something."

"Okay, fine," he mumbled then marched out the door. "You two have fun."

"Thanks," Casey muttered to himself once he'd left, throwing his hands in the air in surrender.

* * *

The two kunoichi had been sitting on those swings for a while now and Casey was already running late.

April grazed the side of her head distractedly with her fingertips while they waited, tracing the french braid that ran from her temple over her ear and down towards her neck. She couldn't stop touching it. The feel was strangely addictive.

"Looks good on ya, Karai said with a knowing look.

"Thanks. It's a little more daring than what I'm used to."

Of course, next to Karai's new look, April's braid and colored streak would hardly catch anybody's attention, and immediately she felt stupid for considering such a trivial thing 'daring'. Karai was sporting the punk-est haircut April had ever seen; shaved sides, the top combed forward ending in a set of pointy bangs colored red and the back pulled into a ponytail, the tips brushing her neck at shoulder height. It matched the torn jeans and leather jacket she was wearing nicely.

The overall look was almost as imposing as the wearer herself and memories of the old Karai flashed through April's mind. After months of letting her hair grow as it would, this seemed like a form of expression. It was as if she was trying to regain that part of herself that had been dormant ever since her world had been flipped upside down.

This wasn't the first time they'd hung out together, Karai and her. Back when she was a new arrival at the lair, after having been turned back to human by Donatello's special retromutagen, April had helped her out in the wardrobe department. She'd let her borrow her clothes at first before it turned out she was more comfortable wearing Casey's dingy old sweatshirts anyway, rather than her yellow tank tops which she actually refused to go out in public with. Later she would offer to go shopping with her and she would let herself be dragged through the more obscure parts of town looking for the kind of stuff she liked. After what she'd been through, April only wanted to chip in in whatever way she could.

And yet even now April would be lying if she said she didn't still find her energy and forwardness a bit daunting. Even after months of coexisting, her makeup arsenal replenished and her assigned bedroom slowly acquiring a lived-in feel to it, having a casual conversation with Karai could still prove a challenge. Nevermind the fact that she'd tried to kill her more than once, Karai was also an energetic, cocky kunoichi with a personality that couldn't go unnoticed if she really tried. And when she wasn't brooding, she was cracking jokes at everyone's expense, no matter whose dignity had to be sacrificed.

But there was a will there, to belong, to amend, that April admired, and she was more than happy to help her find that happy place.

"You know, Karai? I'm glad you're with us. I was missing some feminine company after my best friend turned out to be a kraang spy," April said, and it wasn't a lie at all. Maybe she was trying to sound more optimistic about Karai than she felt, but she wasn't lying.

"Really? I'm so used to the absence of 'feminine company', I don't even notice," Karai replied with a touch of pride.

"How come?"

Karai leaned back on the swing, legs sprawled in a display of burly content.

"I didn't have many girl friends when I was growing up. There were other women in the Foot, of course. But me being Oroku Saki's daughter they were beneath me, so we never talked."

There it was now- hesitation- filtering through the cracks of Karai's mask of confidence at the mention; guilt, uncertainty, shame… The once Princess of the Foot had spoken with all the ease in the world. Could've fooled anyone. But not April.

"Must have been tough," she offered gently, waiting to see if Karai was up for it. After barely a couple of seconds, Karai responded.

"Yeah, it was, when I was younger," she shrugged, relentless in her efforts to appear as though she didn't care anymore. "At times I wondered what it would be like to be one of those girls who go to school in their uniforms and talk about boys, but as the years went by I was too busy to care. In the end I grew to like that kind of lifestyle. It made me feel empowered; superior."

A beat as she debated whether to tell her, the creaky chains of the swings being the only sound between them.

"Can I confess something?" she said finally, a hint of childlike shame in her black lined eyes. "Sometimes I miss it "

"What?"

"Being Oroku Karai."

Afraid that April might've gotten the wrong idea, Karai immediately backpedaled.

"Not like that. It's just that… My life was resolved. I had my road all paved out for me, I knew who I was, and who I wanted to be. It was easy. And now it's all different, and nothing's clear..."

At her own words, the kunoichi gave April a tentative look laced with remorse. She looked as if she regretted saying that out loud, but deep down she knew Karai had been aching to tell someone this for a long time.

"Well… now you can pave your own road," April offered brightly. "You have a thousand doors open for you and you can choose what path to take."

Karai chuckled.

"Were you bitten by the Splinter bug too? It must be contagious."

Leo, who half the time acted as if he was trying out for Splinter Junior, came to mind especially.

Catching the small rut of April's brow, she quickly added "You know what? You're right. Back then I thought I had everything I ever wanted at arms reach, when really I didn't know what I was missing out on. But at least I get a chance to just be a girl now."

April gave her an encouraging smile.

"Glad you see it that way."

Karai scooched her swing closer to April's, suddenly serious and speaking in a grave voice.

"Hey, I know this is hard for you, being with me…"

April tried to look surprised.

"No! No way!"

"Don't be silly, of course it is! Not too long ago we were both fighting to the death in this very park."

"I-"

"No, hear me out! Look, I know apologizing wouldn't help. Besides, I'm terrible at it, and it would be a lie…" Karai clutched April's arm, thinking she was going to run away. "Well, actually, not exactly a lie! I said that because the person I was is not the person I am today, if that makes any sense... " Realizing what she was doing, she quickly let go of April's arm and groaned in frustration. "Did I ever say I'm really bad at this?"

In her mind Karai knew that was an understatement. The kind of people she'd been surrounded by growing up, her rigid upbringing, everything and everyone in her life had taught her that any emotion outside of rage or hatred was a sign of weakness. She was having a rough time trying to counteract those teachings, hard as she tried.

April sensed her anguish and quickly interjected, her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay! I get what you mean."

Karai stared at her in hopeful expectancy.

"Besides, you may have beat the crap out of me that day, but I totally messed you up," April said with a smirk, an attempt at being amusing.

Karai, her gaze still fixed on hers, started laughing in guffaws giving April's shoulder a friendly swat, and April declared it a success.

"Not just! You threw me down a flight of stairs. Good job, by the way! I'm still feeling that one."

"Hell yeah."

"You were pretty good. I've been training for this since I was four, and you still held your own. A few years of training with father plus a few tips from me," she added with a wink and a grin, "and you're on your way to becoming a great kunoichi."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. You're still many bruises and sprained ankles away from all that. But don't worry, I'll gladly provide my share of those."

Karai punched her own palm for emphasis.

"Ooh, yeah… I'm looking forward to it," April said, and winced just thinking about it. Still she smiled, feeling a lot more animated. Karai returned the smile, and this time it wasn't sly or evil; it was a genuine, thankful smile.

"So hey," Karai said then. "Let's talk about something a little lighter while we wait for Mr. Jones, what do you say?"

"Sure!"

"We could try some girl talk. Like what's the deal with you and Casey?"

Right away April panicked. Out of all the topics...

"What do you mean?"

"You guys going on a date?"

"No, we're just gonna hang out for a while."

"And what about Donnie?" she asked craftily, wiggling her eyebrows. April scoffed.

"What about him? We're friends. We're all just friends," April assured, waving her hands around.

"Okay, fine. I was trained in the art of touchy subjects, and I think I just hit the bullseye. But you were very cool to me today so I'll let that rest for now."

April wasn't quite sure whether that was supposed to make her feel relieved or threatened.

"Thanks, I think."

Of course the inexhaustible warrior pressed on.

"But hey, while we're on the subject of boys… You've known the guys for a long time. Tell me at least once you've seen them take out their joysticks."

It took April a couple of seconds to process the question.

"What?!"

Suddenly she was wishing they could go back to talking about ninjas and beating the shit out of each other. It served her right for hoping the next conversation topic could be a little less compromising.

"Come on, you've lived with them for long periods of time even! Don't tell me you never tried to take a peek, you know, in the bathroom…?"

"NO!"

"Not even out of scientific curiosity? You can't tell me you never wondered what they looked like."

"I am… not…"

"You ever seen an actual turtle's? I'm actually a little concerned, aren't you? I mean, being part human I'm expecting something more familiar and a little less… from an Alien movie, but who knows?"

"Are you listening to yourself?"

Oh, Karai was most assuredly listening to herself. And she was enjoying every word.

Meanwhile April's cheeks were almost brighter than her hair now and she was unable to articulate full sentences, merely mouthing the beginnings of words like a fish out of water.

Just like an act of divine providence, Casey entered the scene.

"Hey, sisters." He walked up to the two girls, the gravel crunching under the sole of his sneakers.

April lifted her gaze up at her saviour and immediately jumped to her feet.

"Casey! Thank God, let's go!"

"Wait, so what were you two girls talking about?" Casey said, realizing they must have been discussing something really interesting to make April want to flee like that.

"Turtle penises."

"Oh," Casey said, eyebrows raised in interest. "Cool. Please fill me in."

"Casey, no!"

"Nah, we didn't get anything clear," Karai said disappointedly.

"Nice hair by the way."

"Thanks! Say, Casey, you're a guy. You ever seen Raph's winky?"

"Nah, he's kinda private about it and always switches to ninja mode when he has to go."

"I'm seriously considering looking through Donnie's notebooks, I'm sure he's got some anatomical study somewhere."

"Probably! Dude's always prepared..." Casey shrugged, and to someone who didn't understand English the conversation might have seemed as innocuous as if they'd been talking about the weather. April couldn't take anymore of such flagrant lack of shame.

"That's it. I've had enough penis talk for today," she stated, yanking Casey's arm to haul him away from the swings.

"Hey, you know I was kidding about the whole spying on them in the toilet, right?" Karai yelled after them, not caring one bit how many apartment blocks were alerted to the kind of conversation they'd been having or how many heads were turned in the vicinity.

"And that's why I don't go in the lair's bathroom anymore," Casey pointed out with a snicker as they both ran from the scene, speeding down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fluffiness and a bit of action in this chapter!**

 **Also this is still an Apriltello fanfic, among other things. Just a friendly reminder^^**

* * *

As soon as they were safely outside of Karai's area of effect, as well as her rather spicy topics of conversation, April finally felt relaxed enough to officially start her date with Casey.

"You're a little late," April groused and Casey made an arrogant heave of his chin.

"Casey Jones is never late. Only fashionably late."

The boy flashed a gap-toothed grin like he was naively trying out for a toothpaste commercial.

"You call 21 minutes fashionable?" she said, pointing at her watch, one eyebrow raised.

"A date with Casey Jones is worth all the wait."

She shot him an unimpressed look.

"Well at least you kept _one_ of your promises. You're actually wearing a shirt," she observed, and how couldn't she? It looked like the shirt was the only thing different on his attire, which looked like the same he wore at dinner the previous night. It left her wondering if he'd actually slept with those clothes on.

"Sure am," Casey said, looking down at himself, his striped white and blue shirt a couple sizes too big. "How do I look?"

"Dashing," April laughed. "The combination of dress shirt, torn jeans and bandana is very… artistic."

"I would call it cosmopolitan casual. Besides, I couldn't just take my dad's pants. They'd be falling off me all afternoon."

"Are these your only pants?"

"They're my _best_ pants," Casey replied smugly, then his eyes latched onto the side of her head. "Hey… Did you get purple highlights?"

"Oh. Yeah, just the one," April said, taking her hand to her right ear to graze it down along the braid. "Karai convinced me. And it's regalia, not purple."

"Looks purple to me. Hey, I like it. Looks good on ya."

"Thanks."

There was a short silence as they turned a corner into a busier street, simply walking shoulder to shoulder like they'd done plenty of times in the past, except this time it was a date. An actual date. Casey seemed pretty chill, but April was biting her lip hesitantly.

"So... you didn't tell anyone, right?" she asked at length.

"No…" Casey lied perhaps a little too quickly and his smile faded. "But I still don't get why we have to keep it a secret."

"It's not a secret, it's just… the omission of unnecessary information. Look, I just don't want the guys making jokes at our expense just yet."

"The guys making fun of us? Since when does that worry you? Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Why do you say that?" April said, knowing in an instant there was no way out of it. She had been compromised.

"Come on, Red. Why don't you just tell the poor guy?"

April scrunched her brow in annoyance, halting before the arcade entrance to face Casey. No point in denying it anymore, she supposed.

"I'll tell him. I just need to find the right moment." And with a loud sigh she added "do you really wanna talk about Donnie on our first date?"

Casey reeled, his eyes wide once he'd realized what the conversation had dangerously derived to. He mentally punched himself in the mouth for it.

"No."

"Then get your butt in there so I can kick it," she ordered, holding the door to the arcade open for him.

* * *

"Saw faster, man!"

"We have to be synchronized, Mikey! You can't just push buttons like a madman!"

"So catch up to me!"

"Will you just… okay hold on! Stop for a moment! I'll set the pace!"

"We can't stop now, just go faster! Go, go, go!"

"Ugh!" Raph let the controller fall in exasperation when the timer reached zero and the letters on screen announced the opposite team's victory. The chubby characters on the screen celebrated to the sound of a cheerful jingle while his little fat man with the crooked moustache and the purple overalls slumped in defeat.

"Aw, man, you suck at this, Raph!"

"What? I oughta break this thing on your hollow head, ya moron!"

The sound of the revolving turnstiles pulled them from their endeavors. Seeing Karai making her way down the steps, Mikey parkoured over the backrest to greet her.

"Big sister!" he shrieked, throwing himself against Karai to give her one of his patented rib-crushing hugs that lifted her off her feet and squeezed the air out of her lungs. Still, Karai smiled and returned the hug as best she could, having already getting used to her little brother's rather extreme shows of affection.

"Let her go, you doofus, she's starting to turn blue," came Raph's voice from the couch, not so much concerned as irritated. The red-clad turtle picked up one of his Modern Ninja magazines, having given up on the videogame.

"What's up, little brother?" she exhaled, catching her breath once Mikey released her.

The young turtle seemed to notice her new hair then and his eyes scanned her with a look of fascination.

"Whoa! Rad new look!"

"Thanks, Mikey!"

At that very moment Leo was passing by carrying a mug and, at Mikey's words, his head swiveled around like a spinning top. Karai smiled mischievously at his gaping expression, running her hand through her bangs and shaking her head to make them dance.

"What do _you_ think, Leo?"

"Wow that… looks amazing!"

The mug was full with what appeared to be -and smelled like- coffee, which was obviously not for him because he never drank the stuff. But in his stupor he was slowly tipping the cup over, and the liquid within started going over the rim and dripping to the floor. Karai tilted her chin towards the forming puddle at his feet and Leonardo finally sprung back to reality.

"Aw, man," he said, holding up his foot with the coffee stained bandaging before heading for the kitchen.

"Guess what, sis," Mikey went on after Leo had left. "I think you'll be happy to know that I've solved your name problem."

"My name problem," she repeated, fairly intrigued.

"Yeah, you know, how your name is Karai, but it's really Miwa, but you're still mostly Karai?"

"Ah…" Karai said, finally understanding, and then braced for Mikey's so called solution, partly dreading the sound of her new "better" name.

"I think you could use both names at the same time!" Mikey announced, his arms outstretched in a theatrical pose.

Karai smirked under her confused frown.

"I don't know, Mikey. Karai Miwa is a little long, don't you think?."

"Nooo, nothing so pediatrician!"

The girl giggled to herself at the adorable misuse of words.

"I think you mean pedestrian?"

Mikey stared for a few seconds, his expression blank. Then he continued like she hadn't just said anything.

"I thought of something more awesome-sounding, like you, big sis!"

She couldn't help but smile at the look of admiration that her little brother was giving her, an ample grin on his freckled face, his blue eyes shimmering with excitement.

"So what is it?" she probed, playing along with his anticipation.

Mikey inhaled deeply, getting ready for the reveal.

"Miwarai," he exclaimed finally, his hand making a dramatic arch in front of him like he could see the word written in the air with fireworks. "It's Miwa and -rai, from 'Karai', get it?"

"Aw, Mikey," she said, trying hard to suppress her laughter. "That's great, but… well, it's not a real name."

"Okay, not to worry. I got another one. Karaiwa!"

"Hm... You know, actually that _is_ a real name, sort of. It's an area of Japan, in the prefecture of Kōchi," she said, amused by the coincidence.

"Hah! See? I'm a genius! That is totally a sign! From now on, I shall call you Karaiwa!"

She cringed at the sound of it, grasping for a way to let Mikey down gently.

"I'll… think about it," she said through her forced smile and Mikey seemed to catch on quickly for once, judging by his puppy dog eyes.

"Y-you don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just…I'm used to the way people call me, that's all," she explained in her best motherly voice while also caressing the smooth dome of his head. "Tell you what: _you_ can call me Karaiwa if you want, okay?"

"Really?" he said, his eyes sparkling with renewed hope.

"Yeah! It's cute! Karaiwa."

"Sounds like a brand for instant noodles," Raph contributed, a look of derision in his narrowed eyes, before getting back to his magazine.

She did her best to ignore Raph, hoping the mockery would end there. She'd have to warn him to sleep with one eye open if it didn't.

At that moment Leonardo showed up with a cloth to wipe the coffee-scented mess he had caused before while trying not to call too much attention to the consequences of his lapse. Of course it was a moot effort because one of Karai's favorite pastimes was keeping an eye on him and everything he did whenever he was around, with the sole intention of finding anything she could use to further embarrass him for her own amusement. Sneaking up to the the turtle boy, she whispered in his ear:

"So was there enough left inside the cup for you to drink at all?"

Leonardo jumped at the kunoichi's sudden proximity.

"It wasn't for me, it was for Donnie. He was busy with something and I offered to take him his coffee. He said he didn't get much sleep last night," he said, kneading the damp cloth into a ball.

"Well it looks like your kind offering was all for naught," she cooed, patting him on the shell, and Leonardo adopted one of his renowned looks of deepest offense.

"Actually there was plenty in the machine," he retorted petulantly, picking up the mug full of coffee from the floor where he'd left it and showing it to Karai, who only gave it a sideways glance.

"Anyway, and speaking of our resident genius, I'll be in Donnie's lab," she said.

"What are you two up to in there lately?"

"Are you guys planning world domination?" Mikey asked. "Cuz if you manage to convince Donnie, he could totally pull that off for ya with his mad science skillz."

"If we were, we wouldn't be telling you, right? But I'm not interested in that today, I'd just like to look up a couple things in his nerd library," she lied. "I'll take the coffee."

Karai plucked the mug from Leo's hand and wandered off towards the big metal doors, leaving the other two alone.

"Donnie's library? I doubt she'd find anything of her liking there among all that Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking," Leonardo said rather skeptically, but his thoughts were interrupted by Mikey's hushed words.

"No, but seriously, bro… Can you imagine Donnie going evil? He'd be like this cyborg turtle genius super-villain with murder gadgets and doomsday devices, he'd be like 'Storkman', but a lot worse…" Mikey shuddered, his voice going grave.

"Stop that, you're going to give yourself nightmares and then _I'll_ have to deal with you."

* * *

The heavy lab door slid open with its unmistakable deep metallic rumbling, momentarily tearing Donnie's concentration away from his computer. He watched Karai slither herself inside through the narrow opening before closing it again behind her.

"Hey," she said with a tip of her head.

"Hey, Karai!"

"Leo made you coffee," she said, holding the mug up for him to see.

"Oh, right! Thanks!"

"Whatcha working on?" she asked Donatello as she crossed the lab towards the workbench, setting the mug down next to Donnie's keyboard on her way there.

"Nothing right now. Just chatting it up with Dr. Rockwell," he replied distractedly.

"MonkeyBrains?" she said, looking over Donnie's shoulder at the username on the chat.

"It was his idea," Donnie shrugged, bemused.

"It's no weirder than any of _our_ usernames. So you two getting along?"

"Most of the time," he snickered. "You gonna work on your big surprise?"

"Almost done," she sang, taking out the lump of leather that had been lying secretly in one of the drawers and preparing the necessary equipment to continue working on it. "Good thing you let me occupy your lab and borrow your precious gadgets. I don't know how I would've kept this a surprise without your help."

"No problem. I can understand a need for quiet." Donnie smiled, knowing Karai's difficulty at openly showing gratitude. Then he waited a few seconds to casually ask "So how's everything?"

She rolled her eyes in mild exasperation, knowing damn well what he was referring to.

It was no secret that she'd been having a difficult few months. It wasn't just the time spent as a mutant, and the way Shredder had used her to hunt the turtles. Everything she once knew for sure had been proven wrong as well. Too many things had changed, too many walls in her life had been torn down and the landscape of her beliefs had been leveled down to a bed of rubble. She wasn't the same. After curing her mutation, the people she'd once considered the enemy had taken her in. And everybody in the lair of the Hamatos was aware of how she'd been struggling with her new life. Even Raph had been relatively kind, but their general strategy was usually staying away from the topic of her past and avoiding unnecessary questions.

Donatello, on the other hand…

Sometimes she'd swear he was trying to be the grandmother she never had.

"You don't have to ask everyday, Don," she said, throwing him a sideways glance and setting the hole punch on the table with a hollow thunk.

"Just making polite small talk," the turtle said nonchalantly. "And I don't ask every day! I could, though…" he threatened.

"No, thanks, I'm good!" Karai pleaded, palms out as if begging him to spare her life, and he chuckled merrily.

"Glad to hear."

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

After a few more adjustments Karai's work was finally nearing completion, and all that was left were the finishing touches.

"Hey, Don. You wouldn't happen to have a rivet gun?"

Donnie answered without taking his eyes off the screen or his fingers from the keyboard.

"In the closet, top shelf. It's in there somewhere. Rivets are in the bottom drawer."

Karai opened the closet and started digging around the various tools and gizmos that crammed its entrails. She stood on her tiptoes and really buried her hand in there, feeling for the thing she was looking for while trying not to knock down anything else. But there was some kind of wooden box that was in the way and she decided to take it out.

Carefully she pulled on the corners with her fingertips until she could see it over the edge of the shelf and she grabbed it. She was going to put it aside on a nearby table when she saw the golden heart engraved on its lid. She turned the container around in her hands, wondering how in the world had this ended up here, and opened it.

A snort of hilarity forced its way out of her throat at the sight of Donnie's smiling face on a photo greeting her from the inside, a tender melody playing on the revolving mechanism.

"What the heck is th-" she started before a green hand shot up from the side and shut the box with a thud, the music dying instantly.

"It's nothing, just… a thing I brought from the farmhouse," Donatello said evasively, taking the music box from her in haste and stretching to leave it on top of the closet where she couldn't reach it. He looked absolutely mortified, which did nothing but incite her mocking instincts.

"Did you make that for April?" she asked, a provocative grin on her face, and burst in loud giggles. "I doubt she'd like it. Don't let her cute clothes fool you. From what I've learned she's allergic to this type of cheese, especially in such copious amounts."

Donnie scoffed humorlessly.

"Yeah, I noticed," he said, and added with a hint of sadness, "I don't try stuff like that anymore."

"Oh. So you showed her already."

He didn't reply to that, and for a few seconds Karai only watched him fiddle with a marker that he'd picked up from a desk for no apparent purpose before he'd even realized what he was doing. Then he tossed the marker aside, sitting back at his computer.

He was rather adorable, in a hopeless kind of way, and below her devious exterior she felt genuine pity. That he'd been head over heels for April for the longest time was the world's worst kept secret.

A memory crossed her mind, one of Donatello coming to April's aid the night Karai had set out to kill her. She'd been the recipient of his wrath then, the fierceness with which he'd fought her off, almost a year ago now. She put the thought aside, the silt of shame once again stirred to the surface by the reminder.

"Maybe the photo was a bit much. You could've at least chosen one where your eyes don't pierce through the soul," she half-jested, breaking the silence in a feeble attempt to soft-pedal. She carefully approached him and leaned on his desk as he averted her eyes, his lips pressed tight. "So if it's in your lab, on the top shelf and out of sight, I'm gonna guess she didn't accept it, right? Did she make you take it back? That seems a bit cruel."

"Aren't you supposed to be working on your armor?"

Karai chuckled, but gave Donnie's shoulder a friendly nudge.

"Don't be like that, Don. It's not that bad, the gesture was actually kinda cute. Clumsy, but cute."

"Yay."

Karai regarded the turtle thoughtfully. It had just occurred to her that the poor guy was most probably unaware of how at this very moment April was on a date with Casey. It didn't matter what April had told her in words, Karai didn't need to be psychic to see through the ruse. And if she were to go by the fact that April had decided to hide that bit of information from her, it was likely she'd meant for it to be a secret. She decided not to press the matter further. For now, at least...

She ambled her way back to the closet and rummaged some more until she finally found the rivet gun, then brought it back to her bench, all the while maintaining respectful silence. Secretly she couldn't help wondering what she'd do if Leo ever made _her_ a music box with his picture on it and her heart gave an unexpected flutter.

Then she tossed the thought aside, a smirk spreading on her face, because she knew it was like wondering what she'd do if it ever happened to rain upwards. Pointless. That would never happen. Even if it occurred to him to do something for her, it simply wasn't Leo's style.

* * *

"Noodles are ready!" came Mikey's voice from outside reverberating on the metal doors.

"Coming! Ok, this is the last rivet, I promise," Karai told herself, punching one more spike into the leather. Then she stood back and gave her work a critical once over, gun in hand. "There."

"You're done?" Donnie said from his corner of the lab, getting up from his chair.

"Yes. For real now."

And she quickly put the tool down, sliding it across the table and out of reach to make absolutely sure she attained to that.

"Can I see?" The turtle approached the piece of armor laid atop the workbench, a multitude of metallic rivets and spikes glinting in the light of the lamps. "Whoa! That is _metal_!"

"Is it a little much? I may have gone overboard with the rivets," she said in a slightly smaller voice that was very unlike her.

"No, I like it! It's very you. All those rivets are bound to give your armor a +2 bonus as well," he joked, although genuinely impressed with the end result.

"I just wanted an armor that doesn't have 'Shredder's daughter' written all over it."

Donnie turned towards her, appraising the change in her expression. His mouth stretched in a sincere smile as he lay a reassuring hand on Karai's shoulder.

"It doesn't. But even if it did, it wouldn't matter."

Karai offered him a thank-you nod.

"You gonna show them?" he asked, motioning towards the exit.

"I'm gonna wait until tomorrow before training. That way I can surprise them _and_ test it in combat."

"Excellent. Might I suggest AC-DC for the catwalk?"

Karai's mouth and brow contorted into a 'not bad' kind of face at the idea and she started cleaning up all the tools and discarded thread and studs.

"And what will you play when you show April _her_ armor?" she then asked casually, watching for Donatello's reaction out of the corner of her eye. His look of surprise did not disappoint, and neither did the dark blush on his cheeks.

"What? How- how did you…?"

"I peeked," she shrugged, feigning innocence. "So what made you embark on such a risky voyage?"

At first Donatello had meant to appear displeased, but the scowl was quickly discarded, too distraught by the sudden butterflies in his stomach.

"When you started making yours I thought it would be a good thing for April to have her own kunoichi gear as well. It's long due. I wanted to surprise her."

"Even after…?" Karai tilted her head towards the closet. "Man, Don, I gotta admire your tenacity."

This time Donatello wasn't so forgiving. Apparently she'd gone too far, judging by that fire in his eyes evaporating all trace of timidness.

"I didn't do it to get something in return! I was just hoping to do something nice, that could be useful and… I'm not expecting anything from her, okay?"

Karai was not at all fazed, but raised her hands apologetically.

"Okay, okay…"

"I mean, can't I do something nice for a friend?"

"Sure!"

"Good. I just… wanted to make that clear."

"Roger that."

The room went quiet but for the light tapping of Donatello's fingers on the desk, his eyes darting back and forth indecisively, and Karai waited patiently for him to make the question that was clearly at the tip of his tongue.

"Well- can you at least tell me if she… if you think she'll like it?" he stammered finally. His blush was back and Karai smiled to herself. He was so easy to read. Maybe that's why he was such easy company for her.

However she didn't have time to try and assuage his fears before they heard the heavy lab doors being heaved open.

"What are you guys _doing_ in here? Your noodles are soaking up all the soup!"

Thankfully the armor was out of sight by the time Raph could finish poking his head in through the opening, buried under a couple of thick tomes on Advanced Magnetism and Applied Microbiology, which Donatello was now pretending to guide her through.

"Yeah, hold on, let us just finish this paragraph," he said casually.

"Dude, if you wanna bond with Karai, homework is not the way to do it. I thought you'd be doing something cooler and more in Karai's field of expertise, you know, like taking over New York," Raph jested, one eyebrow ridge raised.

"Thank you, Raph." Usually when Karai spoke those words, in that order, it wasn't out of gratitude, and Raphael clearly knew this based on the crooked grin of self-enjoyment he was dedicating her.

"You're welcome, sis," he retorted in mock-sweetness before turning away.

Karai hurriedly put the armor away in the drawer before anyone else could see and turning to Donatello she pressed a finger to her lips in a secretive gesture. Donnie acknowledged by pretending to zip his mouth shut and they were off.

* * *

"Man, I can't wait to give this thing to Raph," Casey snickered, holding up what appeared to be a strawberry pink stuffed crustacean creature, the size of a German Shepherd with a white bow on its head. The multiple little arthropod legs on its belly dangled around with its carrier's every step and Casey couldn't look more thrilled about it. "He is going to flip."

April laughed deviously. Knowing Raphael's phobia of cockroaches, there was a slight chance Casey would end up hanging on the wall from a pair of sais, but they'd both deemed it absolutely worth the risk.

"I would so get the whole thing on youtube if it wasn't for our vote of confidentiality," she said, already on pins and needles picturing each of the turtles' reactions.

They had acquired this thing with their combined tickets won at the arcades. They saw it hanging there like a grotesque angel and they had both agreed it was the most adorably disgusting thing they'd ever seen. Its beady eyes were practically begging them to adopt it.

"Sure you wouldn't rather keep it yourself?"

April gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"No way. It'll be a lot more fun to have around the lair. Let it be a testament to my superior gaming skills. I own like 78% of that doll," she said, taking pride in Casey's offended pout at those words. He was a bit of a sore loser, but being on a date she had the upper hand today.

Looking up at the already darkening sky, another thought occurred. "What time is it?"

"We got time. Movie doesn't start in another fifteen minutes."

"We better hurry up though, we've already paid for these," April said, taking the tickets out of her duffle bag to check the start time.

"Let's take the park! It's a shortcut. And also very romantic," he suggested in a deep voice, wiggling his black eyebrows. April shoved him away with a crooked grin, but agreed to take the shortcut just in case.

They should've known better than to meander through a park at sundown. They'd only barely made it a few yards in along the dusty trail when there was a holler to one side of the path that caught their attention.

"Check it out! Casey Jones dressing all fancy for his girlfriend!"

They turned around to look for the source of the laughter that followed and saw four kids, probably her age or younger, gathering in a group before a vandalized "if your dog poops you scoop" sign post with paint cans in their hands. They were pointing at the pair and cackling derisively.

"Hey, Casey! Are you on a date or on your way to church?"

"Yeah, nice shirt! Did ya borrow it from your dad?"

April turned to look up at Casey with her lips puckered in lofty apathy.

"Old friends, I presume?"

"It's just those kids from my block," Casey said with an air of disgust and his hands balled into tight fists. "They only get together to mess stuff up. Or to mess with people… I caught them smashing a car window to steal a stupid toaster. They have no idea that was me in the hockey mask kicking their sorry asses, or they wouldn't be making fun of me right now."

"Honey, you can do so much better! Wanna try with a real man?"

April let out a groan of revulsion and slid her hand inside her duffle, rummaging for the reassuring feel of her tessen. "You don't even shave, you brat," she muttered under her breath, pretty intent on avoiding any kind of trouble.

"What the hell is that thing you're carrying, Jones?"

They knew they were referring to the horrifying yet somehow sickly sweet bug plushie in Casey's arms.

"Duh, it's Casey's little sister! Don't you recognise the bow?"

April felt Casey tense beside her, hatred rolling from him in waves.

"Just ignore them, Case. Don't fall for it," April said in an attempt to dissuade him from engaging in a fight that he was destined to lose, but Casey's entire attention seemed focused on the morons smacking their thighs and clutching their stomachs in forced laughter. And she knew him well enough to know where this was going.

Oh boy...

"You'd think at her age she would've sprouted wings already!"

Casey snarled, his lip curled upwards.

"Casey..." April warned in a dangerous voice that said 'don't you dare'. The boy only turned around to hand her the plushie and he faced the bullies.

"Hang on, Red! These goons need to be taught a lesson!"

"You think you can postpone the class for another day? We're gonna be late!" She struggled to keep the doll in her arms while tapping her own watch to emphasize her point. "Also, you're gonna get clobbered!"

"Don't worry, April, this will only take a moment!"

"Not even if you weren't outnumbered four to one! The movie, Case!"

But at this point the movie was really just an excuse to keep him from getting into another street brawl, and April pulled on his shirt sleeve begging him to move. At long last, Casey reluctantly obliged, his temple throbbing with contained rage.

"You can come back some other day, and you can bring Raph with you and have some fun with them. But now we better hurry or we won't make it to the theater."

She dragged Casey through the park as fast as he'd go. It didn't help that the group of bullies started tagging along. April could hear the sound of Casey's molars grinding against each other.

"They're lucky I don't have my gear with me, or I'd teach them to mess with Casey Jo-"

His words were cut off by a projectile cup hitting him square in the back of the head, the liquid getting splashed all over his hair and shirt.

For a few seconds Casey remained frozen, his feet nailed to the ground, the sticky syrup dripping down his face as the kids behind them threw guffaws of unpleasant laughter into the night air like coyotes.

"Oh, crap," April squeaked.

Casey started to vibrate like an over-heated boiler. Finally he exploded, and swirled around to pounced at the perpetrator. Growling, he tackled the guy to the ground, a cloud of dust wafting up with the impact.

"Casey, no!" she yelled in vain, holding the ugly plush tightly in her arms as the two rolled around in the dirt like roosters in a cock fight, grunting and puffing while the rest of the goons cheered.

So far Casey seemed at an advantage. He was older and a more experienced brawler, and he'd learned a thing or two from having Raphael as a friend. The bully thrashed and kicked desperately trying to get his adversary off, but Casey had him pinned now, and he was landing punch after furious punch on the guy's guts.

"I bought lemonade from you when we were kids, Joey! You! Ungrateful! Asshole!" he yelled in between blows until the others watching decided their mate had had enough and it was time to intervene. One of them snagged the collar of Casey's shirt and yanked backwards, pulling him off of Joey and throwing him to the ground.

Between the blink of an eye and the next, the tables had turned and now there were too many angry teenagers tossing Casey around like a volleyball. April had been contemplating the prospect of calling for help, but that would take a while and then -of course being Casey- he would most surely get into even more trouble with the cops. Forget the movie; he would end up either in the hospital or in jail if she didn't do something soon, and yelling threats wasn't working. After dancing nervously on her two feet for a bit, she finally came to a decision. With a tired sigh of surrender, she leaned to sit the fuzzy bug creature down on the park bench, promptly reaching inside her bag.

Casey was on the ground now, curled into a ball as the kicks flew from all directions, his cries of pain muffled on his sleeves.

And then suddenly an object flew by spinning and hit one of the teens in the face. It bounced off to hit another one in the back of the head, with that knocking both of them on their rears. Everybody halted and looked around in confusion, spotting the young red-haired girl who was striking a karate pose with a fan in her hand. The fan glistened with a dangerous metallic glow.

Before they had time to process, she swung again. The fan hovered off towards the group of slack-jawed teens at lightning speed, catching a couple of cheeks with its razor-sharp edges before returning to its owner's hand.

The girl held the thing aloft menacingly.

"Get away from him or so help me!" she growled.

A few of the kids were already backing off from Casey's trembling form, gripping their faces where the tessen had left bleeding gashes.

"What the fuck, man! That fan's alive or something!"

"Yeah, unlike you, if you don't get the hell off of him!" she threatened.

They appeared hesitant to be intimidated by a pretty girl waving a fan, so April helped them come to grips with the notion. She made a warning brandish, flashing her fan in front of her. The kids flinched and that made her smile.

Swelling with confidence, she feigned a new attack and they jumped, scurrying away like the weasels they were as she made her way to Casey.

The boy disentangled himself from the pitiful ball he had rolled himself into and started laughing as he accepted April's hand, the idiot, scrambling to his feet with a clipped cry of pain.

"Those assholes!" he chortled, wiping the dirt and blood from his upper lip. "Did you see that? They totally cheated!"

He swayed and April caught his arm, putting it around her shoulders to help him stay on his feet.

"You thought that was funny?" April snapped, infuriated and annoyed by Casey's continued laughter when he was covered in cuts and bruises and could barely stand upright. "Let's get you to my place," she growled.

"Wait!" he groaned and for a second April thought his leg was broken or something. But all he did was reach for the plush sitting on the bench, grabbing one whisker. "Okay," he confirmed and leaned on April with his other arm. The pink crustacean doll dragged on the dirt ground like a deflated balloon as they slowly made their way out of the park.

April scoffed, narrow eyed.

"You douchebag. We already had tickets to that show."

"I can still go, no big deal! You think this will stop me from going to a movie theater? Like literally the only thing you do there is sit for two hours," Casey slurred before he tripped over himself, almost making the two of them fall.

"Are you nuts?" she exclaimed. "Come on. We gotta get you cleaned up."

* * *

 **Wooooo I loved writing this chapter!**

 **There's probably going to be a new illustration to go with it, so keep an eye on the profile for the links.**

 **I never knew the Donarai bromance would be so much fun. What did you guys think?**

 **Oh and another thing: don't be too discouraged about April apparently rejecting the music box. Just wanted to say that.**

 **A big thank you, as usual, to our beta reader Queequegg.**

 **Remember, reviews are fuel for the writing furnace!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh man, this is where it gets exciting!**

 **Donnie receives an intriguing message and April's date with Casey isn't going as planned.**

 **Remember to review! Reviews are writer chow!**

* * *

Donatello headed straight for the lab after dinner to continue with some of the projects that he had underway; a total of five, currently, if he counted April's armor, which was nearly ready. The search for a mutagen substitute was leading nowhere, and the holo interface prototype was turning out to be a real migraine inducer. But at least the blueprints for the new security grid were just about finished, and the mapping marbles were coming along beautifully if he did say so himself. And what better way to reward his brain for all the hard work than a little glucose for dessert. Together with the coffee, the energy boost would surely recharge his batteries enough to last him a few more hours.

So on his way out from the kitchen following his brothers and sister, he plucked the pop-tart package from the top of the fridge and helped himself to one of the baggies. As he crossed the main room, he started peeling off the wrapper as if he were undressing a lover.

Oh, sweet sugary bliss.

Once in his lab he was so engaged in the thorough licking of the icing that it took him a few seconds to notice the blinking of the cursor on his computer's screen.

Something was not right here. He was sure he'd signed off the chat when he was done talking to Monkey- err, with Dr. Rockwell. His confusion grew when he saw that on the chat window there was a username he'd never seen before, and _he_ obviously hadn't logged it on to the Hamato network.

The message read simply:

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Donatello?_

He stared at the words on the screen for a little bit in mild bewilderment, pop-tart held aloft in his hand, until a closer look at the username made him pause.

Duzmachines _? Damn, that's good. Why didn't I think of that one?_

That aside, he was pretty sure he had never authorized this new addition to the network, which meant this _Duzmuchines_ had somehow, for some reason, violated his precious system. He wasn't used to it going the other way around.

This simply would not stand.

He promptly gripped the backrest of his chair, spun it and sat himself at the keyboard.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Alright, who's doing this? And how did you get into this network?_

The reply came almost immediately. Someone had been waiting for him...

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I hacked it :)_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _No one can hack into my system but me._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Exactly!_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _I repeat: who is this?_

 _Mikey?_

 _How the heck did you do this?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Not Mikey..._

Donatello was already typing how he could just track the signal to find out who they were and then there would be hell to pay, and he was half-way through his threat, but Duzmachines was quicker.

A quick typer...

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Listen, we don't have that much time to talk and you're not going to believe me on the first try anyway, so I'll just say it._

 _Hold on to your shell!_

 _Hold on to your shell... They were definitely a Hamato, or someone very close, and that didn't include many people._ He waited for whatever big news was supposedly about to come and making sure to make the most unimpressed face possible in case of potential hidden cameras.

The awaited text message plopped into existence.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I'm you, from the future._

Donatello's eyebrow ridges quirked upwards so high on his forehead that his mask came loose.

Well, he had to give them points for creativity.

And execution. Points for execution, too. And he had just been with those guys barely less than three minutes ago in the kitchen.

He could think of a few ways they could've done this, the most probable being that he left the manager open one day and they'd added the new user account while he was in the bathroom, or something. He hadn't set up the network so that anybody could join or invite other people. The mystery was easily solvable if given enough time, but before tracking down the source of the invading signal in order to find the culprit, he figured he might as well have a little fun.

After taking one reptilian bite out of his pop-tart, he hunched over the keyboard and typed avidly, heaving a hushed chuckle of disdain through his nose. If they thought they could outsmart _him_ they had another thing coming.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Wow._

 _Please tell me those new Nestor5 models are out, I've been dying for one of those._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Sorry, none of that._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _OK, well at least tell me they found the Prothean ruins on Mars._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _No, but I invented Omnigel. True story._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Cool! That must have been one heck of a fight against the evil pharmaceutical institution. Thankfully the Nobel Prize was worth it. And of course the gratitude of all of humanity._

 _Had any problems with copyright or did you just patent it with a different name?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I expected you would take this as a joke._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Right, because you're me from the future, so you would know that._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Right._

 _Look, Donatello, you've obviously decided to play along just for giggles so this could go on_ ad infinitum _._

 _I would know. Pranks can get quite creative if Mikey's involved, am I right?_

 _So can I get your permission to skip the preambles so I can prove to you that I'm really you?_

Donatello scowled, thinking they weren't making this as fun as he'd expected and he was quickly growing weary of it all. They must be building up one hell of a punchline.

And did they just admit Mikey was the culprit? The idea sure was Mikey's style, but the execution… How did Mikey do this? How could any of his siblings do this? Absurd. Although inexplicably he had seen Mikey do more impressive things with Kraang tech...

He pushed his chair away from the desk, getting up and crossing the lab in four giant strides. Peeking outside, he spotted Mikey on the couch deeply invested in his shooter videogame.

 _I'm not sure what I expected._

He went back to his desk, looked around askance as if the anatomy posters on the walls could hold an answer, then sat down again. He stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds, the cursor blinking steadily over the last received message.

"Hey, Mikey?" he called loudly, not taking his eyes off the chat.

"Yeaaah?" came Mikey's voice from the living room.

"Where's Raph?"

"Uh, he's out scouting."

"What about Casey?"

"Gotta be with Raph, obviously!"

Donnie's brow knitted in thought.

"Leo?" he yelled, though this was hardly Leo's style.

"Leo's meditating in his room, Splinter's in the kitchen cleaning, and I can hear Karai's music from here," Mikey recited all in one, seemingly just to get it over with. "Dude, what's with the roll call?"

"Nevermind!"

Donnie hummed to himself. Who else could it have been? Who else did he _know_? April? He picked up the T-phone and wrote a text.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Hey, what are you up to?_

April's reply took a minute.

 _ **RednYelloKillaFello:**_ _Hey._

 _Videochat with dad. Why?_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _No reason. Just bored._

 _Talk later._

He put the phone down. The possibility that this could still all be part of a very elaborate ruse and everybody was in on it was still real, of course, but…

He gauged the different possible explanations and assigned percentages. The results were interesting: it was actually more probable for this to be actual future Donatello than for any of his brothers to have found a way into his system. Could they have gotten help from someone? Dr. Rockwell was brilliant but, as far as Donatello knew, a noob in the field of computer engineering.

The prank was quickly losing its comedic properties. In fact, Donnie was now starting to doubt this was a prank at all so much as someone messing with him, and he was now worried that this guy, whoever it was, knew about him and Mikey, and probably many other things.

He was starting to panic, considering the shut down of his computer and a complete system reformatting just in case, to get rid of the invasion.

But he stopped himself short of pulling the plug. Whoever this guy was, he knew too much, and Donnie couldn't just lose track of him. Time to locate this asshole.

The chat pinged just as he was firing up the program to do just that.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Hey, listen. We're running out of time to talk and I'd really like to get somewhere with this as soon as possible, so I'm just gonna give myself permission._

 _Because I knew you'd need it, I've already got something good in store._

Donatello shrugged to himself. _What the hell, let's see what they got._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Shoot._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _There you are! OK._

 _When you were 7, you got an idea for a working model spaceship that you planned to build out of an old washing machine. You kept the project hidden because everybody was teasing you so much about being obsessed with the old "Cosmos" series._

 _You named your project "Ship of the Imagination". Everything was going well until it exploded._

 _Luckily you were wearing goggles but Master Splinter got so mad that he confiscated all your precious chemicals and tools._

 _You've never told this story to anyone._

Donatello's jaw dropped.

The dude from the chat was right: he'd never told _anyone_. Sure, everybody caught the explosion, and they'd laughed at his cost for weeks. But the project's purpose and name? Yeah, those parts he left out, and the blueprints were all coded in his made-up language. There was no way they'd let him forget about it in years if they found out, and he'd had enough of their wise-cracking to last a while.

He hadn't thought about that incident since he was 12.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I could've gone with something even more personal for greater impact, but I've sort of got an audience and you know how our brothers are. Sorry I had to give away our secret to these lewd bastards, they're laughing themselves stupid as I type._

Donnie made a choked sound and stroked an imaginary goatee, trying to process what was happening. The tracking program was taking its sweet time as well. Apparently the signal was very weak, and it had made a very long trip.

He had to admit, he had no explanation for this.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ You still there?

...pinged the stranger in the chat...

* * *

"Was that one of the guys?" Casey asked. He was holding the ice pack against his forehead, waiting for April to put the T-Phone back down.

April thought about lying, but knew it wouldn't be much use.

"Donnie. He just wanted to ask about something," she said, plopping down on the chair in front of Casey.

She didn't take pride in this whole thing. Lying to Donnie had not been part of the day's plan and she'd been close to just telling him the truth. But she didn't. She couldn't.

Just the thought of Donnie knowing that Casey was over at her place made her stomach churn. The two of them alone, on an 'actual date'… even when the date was as good as over considering their plans had been thwarted, all thanks to Casey and his hero complex.

"So I'm guessing you haven't told him?" Casey said, reading her expression, and she bristled. She didn't appreciate the reminders when she was already doing her best not to think about Donnie on her date with Casey. And she was still angry about what happened at the park, so… She was basically working really hard to keep her bad temper at bay.

"Are you seriously starting that again? I'm going to tell him! Soon! Meanwhile, you shh! Gimme your arm," she commanded, making sure to douse the ball of cotton with a generous amount of alcohol.

"Okay, fine… But you know, it's gonna hurt more the longer you w-AAAAAH FUCK!" Casey screamed when April deliberately rubbed the saturated cotton along the gash on his forearm and he pulled it away in a reflex, holding it to his chest like a wounded animal.

"Sorry," she said in a sweet voice, and was quick to change the subject. "You know what would have helped you? Aside from being a little smarter than to go picking fights with a gang of hormonal kids, of course…"

"What," Casey grunted suspiciously, still feeling the stinging aftershocks of the alcohol.

"Ninja training," she said tartly. "You should let Master Splinter teach you a thing or two about unarmed combat, just so you could hold your own if this ever happens again. It saved my life, you know? More than once."

"Ain't no savvy like street savvy, Red, and Casey Jones's very street wise. Those guys were just playing dirty. Next time, I'll be ready."

April rolled her eyes. She had tried to talk him into training with Master Splinter several times, but as he put it, he had no interest in "circus acrobatics". And she was in no mood to argue with his thick skull.

"Well, looks like the night's taken an interesting turn of events." Casey stretched and his breath caught in his throat at the audible crack.

"If you wanna call it that. I'd rather be in a movie theater right now instead of cleaning dirt out of your cuts," she retorted and started picking up all the blood-stained wipes, throwing them in the bin.

"No matter, Red. We can have fun here too."

April released a sharp exhale, regarding his cheeky expression with a sarcastic half smile.

"You don't seem all that ready for anything fun," she said, and deliberately poked his side where she knew he had the nastiest bruise. He jumped with a squeak. "But I guess we can always catch up on some of that homework."

Casey's face blanched.

"Are you serious?" he squealed and she laughed evilly, grouchiness finally starting to let up.

"Nah, you've been pummelled enough. But pull another stupid stunt like at the park and we're doing calculus on our next date."

"Wouldn't you love that cuz you just looove talking about school and playing good student, dontcha," he accused.

"You callin' me a nerd?" she said in mock indignation.

"You said it, not me."

She smacked him in the arm.

"I don't love school, I'm just trying to be _responsible_. You know what that word means, Casey Jones?"

Casey made a noise like a horse's sneeze as sole response and April slowly shook her head, cross-armed.

"Hey, don't you have a laptop?" Casey said quickly before she mentioned homework again. "We could find the movies online! It'll be like the theater, only cosier. And we can pause for pee breaks."

"Yeah, right. You're just trying to get out of studying," she joked, but got up to retrieve the laptop from her room. "I doubt we'll find anything better than a cam for the new movie, though. We'd need Donnie for that."

And there it was again: Donnie's name, popping up everywhere like daisies. She inwardly kicked herself in the shin for bringing it up after what she herself had said on the matter, and prayed Casey hadn't heard that last part.

* * *

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Donatello? You still there?_

Donatello _was_ there. To a degree, at least…

He felt lightheaded, thunderstruck, and for a moment there he could've sworn he'd practically blacked out. It couldn't be, but there it was, as real as Earth's rotation. He was -for lack of a better expression- talking to himself.

When more words appeared on the screen accompanied by the usual ping, he shook his head and tried to concentrate on what to say next. _What_ do _I say to my future self? What do I ask? Should I even ask or would that indeed cause some sort of temporal paradox?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Is that a stunned silence? Do I have your attention?_

 _Did you_ faint _?_

With a final blink of his eyes, Donnie was finally able to will his fingers to move over the keyboard.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _No…_

 _I think..._

 _This is still kind of hard to believe though._

 _Either you're telling the truth and are really me from the future or there's a new mutant in New York who has both psychic powers and a vast knowledge in computer science._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Both possible, after all you meet more than of half the qualifications._

 _Which do you think is more probable here?_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _I'm still trying to figure that one out…_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Trust me, we're just as freaked out on this end!_

 _Would you like me to explain the science?_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _The science is always welcome._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Worm hole. One of the tiny ones. I've spent a good five months researching, going through almanacs and old news reports, magazines on the paranormal, what have you. I was looking for weird lights in the sky, strange localized weather phenomena, planes going missing, that kind of thing- to find a wormhole that would come close to both your location and ours, at the right time._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _The signal's not coming from New York. I haven't had time to track the source, but I can tell that much._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _No, it's not in New York. Yet. The wormhole is in Earth's trajectory so you will be able to pick it up in a couple of days, maybe. I'm using satellites to amplify and bounce the signal. The wormhole is in constant movement in relation to the planet, so I have to recallibrate in real time. I wrote a program specifically for that purpose. It's using data from servers all over the world._

 _You could roast a chicken over the CPU._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _You're saying it'll be in New York. Are you planning on, you know, coming here?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _That is exactly what we're planning._

A high pitched clamor of excitement forced its way out of Donatello's throat. It wasn't enough that he was talking to his future self; he was eventually going to meet himself in person. This was getting better by the moment and his seat was becoming unbearably small, incapable of containing his restless rump.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _How far in the future are we talking exactly?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Exactly? Ten years, two months, thirteen days, four hours and forty-five seconds._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Ten years?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I know, right!_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _You're me ten years in the future?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Sure am! I've been planning this for months so you know I'm ecstatic._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Is… everybody there?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _There's a few of us here right now. But I'm not spilling any details, so don't even bother asking. Spoilers aren't good foDOMNEI OMG ITS U THIS I AMLZIGN!1!_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Mikey?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Yes, Mikey. Sorry about that. He finally managed to reach the keyboard despite our best efforts._

Donatello laughed out loud, a cackle laced with incredulity and a somewhat manic elation, resounding on the lab's tall, bare walls.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Holy Toledo, I can't believe this! Look what you've accomplished! You completely kicked the space-time continuum in the nuts!_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _And we're about to do much more! You and I are going to literally rip space-time a new one._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _What's the occasion?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Sorry, past Donatello, that part will have to wait until next time. It's a long story and I can only maintain the connection for so long today. The portal is about to go out of range. It'll be easier to communicate the closer the wormhole is to Earth._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Wait!_

 _When do we get to talk again? How are you going to make this work?_

 _Hello?_


	5. Chapter 5

**Stuff is finally happening you guys! And much more to come!**

 **Also Apriltello is beginning to slowly unfold at last. Leorai too, of course (and Rasey coff-coff) but April really has been a bit enigmatic these past few chapters, right? Thank you for your patience! XD**

 **As always, a huge thank you to Queequegg for her beta reading!**

* * *

Even after verifying that the signal had been lost, Donnie remained fixed to his desk, gaping at the words on the screen until he saw spots. The half pop-tart had been long forsaken on the cold surface of the table.

Did that really happen? Did he really just maintain a dialogue with his future self? This… this was most assuredly the best thing ever.

He felt the urgent need to tell someone about this. But who? Obviously if they'd just been contacted by their future selves this had to be a matter of utmost importance and it was imperative that the others knew. But would anyone even believe this without some real proof? He wasn't sure even he believed it himself, still. The safest course of action would probably be to keep quiet about it until he could find out more. But how could he possibly keep quiet about _this_?

There was no way. He'd just made contact _with the future!_ Their future selves had just confirmed that they'd be coming over and who knows with what purpose!

He had to tell someone!

He thought about calling April first. She always listened to him. But then he remembered she had been busy with her dad. Better leave them alone then.

Raph would likely laugh in his face, so he would be the last to know, the meathead. Same went for Casey; those two were twins in all but species.

Mikey… forget Mikey. Once he managed to make his excitable little brother understand what was going on, he'd want to be all up in it for sure. And any laboratory equipped with a hyperactive Mikey was a danger zone as he'd proven on more than one occasion. The longer he could postpone the giggling -and the hopping around, and the breaking of things- the better.

He wouldn't even know what to tell Master Splinter. It was too soon. He never went to Master Splinter without anything less than a detailed project proposal, and then only when they needed his assistance, or his approval. Not that he never approved -so far he'd been pretty open to just about any crazy invention Donnie had hatched as long as it didn't affect him. But if he happened to declare it safer to ignore and block these messages, even to the point where he'd confiscate his electronic devices... Then he would never be able to talk to future Donatello again.

And that was the reason Leonardo was the best choice. He often was; he and Donatello had always understood each other best of all the brothers, and he was also the perfect intermediary for dealing with Splinter.

That settled it: he would tell cautious, collected, reasonable Leonardo first and see what he thought about it. A second opinion would be great right about now.

Oh man, this was so exciting he could barely contain himself!

He made a quick copy of the text, lest it suddenly disappeared along with all evidence of the conversation, and with one last glance at the screen, Donatello pranced out the lab doors towards Leo's room. Not even wondering why his door would be closed so early, he swung it open and entered like a typhoon.

"Leo! You won't bel…"

Donatello's words caught in his mouth at the sight of his brother in the lotus position, his eyes closed, his vacant expression a picture of peace under the dim light of a dozen candles.

Oh, right. Meditation hour.

Leonardo hadn't moved a single micrometer as the candles flickered and the orange light shimmied at the gust of air Donatello's entrance had provoked. _What time is it?_ he wondered, impatient, quietly closing the door behind him and sitting cross-legged on the carpet facing his brother. Gathering all his composure, he waited for him to come back down to Earth.

Five minutes in, he was already tapping his foot and sighing every other second, too eager to tell him all about this new wondrous development.

Finally Leonardo exhaled deeply and slowly opened his eyes. Donatello was on him in a heartbeat.

"Leo!" he shrieked.

"What, Donnie," Leonardo said levelly before his brother pounced and started shaking his shoulders.

"Something happened!"

"What? What?" Leo demanded, shrugging out of the other turtle's grip.

"Something amazing! Something of _cosmic_ proportions! Improbable in all logical and scientific terms, it's- it's more science _fiction_ than science, almost, and even _I_ would laugh at me, but I am ninety-nine percent convinced-!"

"Cut to the chase, Donnie, I just came out of meditation and you're already wearing out the effects."

Donnie paused but for a split second, enough to take in just the air necessary to keep talking.

"I have made contact with- get this- future me! _Me from the future_!"

"Wh- Huh?"

"Future Donatello hacked into our internal network and started talking to me! Come look at this!"

Donatello pulled a quizzical Leonardo to his feet and started hauling him down the hall to the lab. Mikey barely diverted his eyes from the screen to see them go past, too engaged in his game.

A small part of Donatello feared it had all been his imagination and that the chat wouldn't be there. But when they entered, there it was on the screen, and he signalled Leo towards it.

"See? This is what I meant!"

Leonardo approached the computer, not before giving Donnie a wary once-over.

"Read it, read it! Here!" Donatello sat his brother on the office chair with a defying smile on his face. Leo indulged him, even when what seemed most probable was that Donnie had finally suffered a breakdown from caffeine overdose, if the swarm of empty mugs on the desk was any indication.

Still Leonardo read, and all the while Donnie's head hanged above his shoulder bouncing up and down like a pirate's cockatoo.

"The Ship of the Imagination?"

"Keep reading," Donnie ordered in a dangerous voice before his brother could make any jokes.

And Leo kept reading, and the more Leo read the more unlikely it all seemed. Line by line, his smile of derision grew.

"You guys really thought I could fall for this? You gotta step up your game, Donnie, this is lame."

"It's not a joke!" Donnie protested and he seemed deeply annoyed by Leo's condescendence.

"Wait… You're serious?"

Donnie nodded vigorously, and Leo only chuckled.

"So…" he glanced back at the conversation and finished reading the last few entries. "So you really believe this?"

"Oh, I didn't at first!"

"Uh, Don, how can I say this? If you're not in on it, then you're the victim. This could be any of the guys claiming to be… uh, future you."

"Leo, I told you. This guy hacked into my system. Do you know who can do that besides me?"

Donnie paused for Leo's response, but his brother only gave him an unimpressed glare.

"That's right. No one."

"If someone hacked into your computer," Leo said, completely ignoring Donnie's last statement, "it could be noteworthy, but for very different reasons. There could be someone out there trying to lay a trap for us. We should be careful. I'm telling Master Splinter."

"Leo, you're not listening to me," Donnie griped wearily, pulling Leo's arm back down to keep him from running off. "If you tell Master Splinter that there's someone out there trying to hack into our network, he'll want to confiscate all my stuff! We've got to see where this goes."

"How can you be so sure of this?"

"Really? Brain aliens from another dimension, sure, but this is too much? This guy said things only I could know. I'm telling you, Leo, this is me from the future!"

"You realize magicians do that all the time and it turns out it's just a trick every time, right?"

A loud groan escaped Donnie in his exasperation.

"Okay, Leo, first of all, that would make him a mentalist, not a magician. And second of all…" Donatello lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "This could be the most incredible thing I've ever done, or I…will ever do in the future... I don't think you're appreciating the- the _magnitude_ of this! I haven't had the chance to locate the source of the signal, but if what future Donatello says is true, then that signal has breached the barriers of space-time, travelling between worlds just so that two people from two separate _universes_ could have a conversation! Think about it! We're going to talk to ourselves, some years into the future! Whatever they have to say to us, Leo… it's gotta be big."

Donnie held Leo in his gaze -his eager, slightly deranged gaze- as he panted for air. He had finally caused an impression on Leo and that obviously filled him with an exhilarating sense of satisfaction and hope. Leo looked at Donnie, then at the screen, then back at Donnie. His intelligent brother was frantic like spinner fireworks. If what he said was true, then… he had a right to be.

"S-so you really think it's possible?"

"Oh, it's possible! Highly improbable, but most certainly possible!"

"How can be you sure that this is not some kind of evil scheme?"

"I'm pretty sure! And how many times have I been wrong?"

The only proper way to respond to that, Leonardo knew, was with a stone-faced silence.

Donnie slumped only slightly.

"Okay, so I'm not _entirely_ infallible, but we gotta at least see where this goes, right?"

His brother in blue sighed through his nose in contemplation.

"It just… sounds so much like something out of Space Heroes, Donnie."

"You think I don't know that? Space Heroes almost seems likelier than this, to be honest."

"I mean how is it even possible?"

"Well, we didn't have that much time to talk. What you read is what he told me. As far as I could gather, he must have been using a very faint broadcast of radio wavelengths to penetrate the wormhole, and…" And this was the moment when the genius showered Leo with the usual onslaught of technical terms and other generally big words that were making Leo dizzy. He was talking about satellites, and servers, and proxies and... hell if he knew.

"Okay, I get the essentials," Leo said, putting an end to the verbal bombardment. "So what does future Donatello _want_? Is he planning to give you next year's sports almanac?"

Donatello regarded him with a look of deep vexation on his face, and Leo shook his hands in an apology, promising to take it seriously from now on.

"Alright, alright… Kidding."

He signalled his brother to continue.

"Like I said, we didn't have that much time to talk, but apparently-"

"Wait, I remember reading they were coming here? To this... time?" Leo leaned in to scroll through the chat, suddenly remembering something from the chat that he hadn't taken seriously up to now.

"That's what he said! I don't know how they plan to do _that_ , but Donatello's definitely got a plan, and I can't wait to hear it" Donnie said, and there was a very obvious shimmer of pride in his eyes.

"Who would be coming, exactly?"

"He didn't say!" Donnie repeated, irritably motioning towards the open chat. "I thought you'd read it!"

"Well when are they planning on telling us all this?" Leonardo groused, already infected with Donatello's excitement. The thought of seeing the older version of himself filled him with an uncomfortable cocktail of anticipation and foreboding. So many things can happen in ten years. What was the world like ten years from now? What did future them look like? And Splinter? And Karai? He tried to suppress a blush at the possibility that he and Karai might have gotten together. It wasn't all that crazy, right?

Secretly, Donnie's thoughts were parallel to Leo's. Future Donatello hadn't even mentioned anyone besides Mikey, who had pretty much mentioned himself in a slip-up anyway. Only now did he pick up on the amount of secrecy that future Donatello had wrapped around the whole thing.

"They said they'd contact me again, I just don't know when. I guess I'll have to keep an eye out, he can only maintain the connection for a few minutes, apparently," Donatello explained.

"You do that. And then you call me. I want to be present next time you talk to them."

"I was going to offer just that," Donnie said with the confidant's smirk. "What about the others? Should we tell them?"

"We could wait until we know something for certain."

"And Splinter?"

"We'll tell him… eventually."

"I love it when we coincide," Donnie said with an fiendish grin. He held out his hand and Leo smacked his palm into his in a power handshake.

"Gear up. Patrol in 10," Leonardo said then, turning around to leave at his brother's nod of confirmation.

* * *

Saying that the quality was crap would have been an understatement. The first movie had a decent enough definition seeing as though it had been on DVD for a while, but the sequel...

The pixels on screen were the size of lego pieces and the audio wasn't always synchronized. Not to mention all the furtive coughs and sneezes from the audience, and the occasional silhouette getting up from its seat and blocking the view. The video offered just enough information for them to loosely follow the plot and April would've gladly just stopped watching, but she had the distinct feeling that Casey was actually more excited about the idea of them both sitting together on the couch in a dimly-lit room.

"Chapati. Stupid name for a guy. Catmint's hot, though," he commented as the aforementioned character and the protagonist shared a tender scene.

Moreover he went on to explain his opinion on why the guy had no real chance with Catmint, from the way she behaved. It was obvious she would ultimately settle for Hale. Or she should, at least.

April made a little agreeing sound, even when she wasn't sure she agreed… Granted Chapati wasn't the most handsome or the most obvious match, but he was intelligent, easy to talk to, and he and the protagonist had been through so much together. It kinda felt to her like the movie was slowly turning the scales, or maybe that's what she was being mislead to believe. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn't completely sure who she would choose if she were in this Catmint girl's shoes, and the situation was all too familiar. _Hang in there, girl._

Her train of thought was interrupted by a slight pressure on her knee.

She needn't look away from the screen to know it was Casey's hand being… adventurous. The expectancy must have been killing him all afternoon, she thought. Knowing him, she was surprised he'd waited so long to try something.

"Listen, Red."

She turned her head and met his eyes, his hand still rubbing tentative circles on her leg.

"I'm sorry we had to miss that movie because of me. I didn't mean to ruin our first _official_ date."

Well, not that she was gonna let that pass, but at least he was finally admitting some responsibility.

"That's alright," she conceded, hesitating to acknowledge the touch of his hand.

The movie went silent all of a sudden and they both turned towards the laptop, thinking maybe the battery had died. But it had nothing to do with the device because the video was still going, only no sound was playing. This is what they got for trying to watch a movie online when it was still in theaters.

The silence was thick like tar between them and suddenly they were both very aware of each other's presence sitting shoulder to shoulder on the couch, alone. And April was all too aware of Casey's hand slowly crawling its way up her thigh.

Casey glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, unable to read her expression, wondering what she'd think if he…

He went for it.

"You look really pretty tonight."

April's eyebrows quirked upwards a tad at Casey's crude attempt at setting a romantic mood, and she smiled in bemusement.

"Thanks, Casey." She was about to make a joke on how she couldn't say the same thing about him given that he looked like he'd been hit by a bus -eye bruised, smelling of antiseptic and three band-aids on his face alone- but managed to bite her tongue in time. That might've broken the mood a bit.

Casey ventured forth, shifting towards her.

"I really like you, April."

She felt heat rising to her cheeks and looked away with a tiny smile. Back when they'd met, she had had her braces removed relatively recently and had replaced the dorky glasses for contacts, so she was not used to that kind of attention. The idea that one of the cool kids from school had actually noticed her was an exciting development, even when he'd been less than delicate about it. Funny how it still managed to maker her blush.

And now she was starting to feel a little panicky. He was very close and she could feel his warm breath on her face, a spicy touch of the mustard from those hotdogs they had for dinner.

It was happening.

Casey leaned in and waited for her to turn her face to him. Their eyelids slowly fell shut as he leaned in the rest of the way, planting one tentative peck on her receptive lips. His face hovered over hers then for a couple seconds, the tips of their noses touching. Ice broken, consent given, more kisses followed the first, soft and cautious, but slowly gaining in confidence.

 _Okay. This is… interesting,_ she mused at the warm, slick feel of Casey's mouth on hers.

"I really like your hair," he muttered randomly between kisses. "And your freckles."

April snickered.

"Really."

"Oh yeah. And those green eyes drive me crazy."

She froze.

"Uh, I have blue eyes, Casey," she giggled.

She allowed him to lean her away, holding her at arm's length in order to look at her face not without a bit of alarm.

"What the heck. I knew this, how did I get that wrong?"

"You must have hit your head harder than we thought."

For a moment there he had been truly convinced. April with pretty green eyes, obviously. A momentary lapse. It was probably for the best that she hadn't seen his drawings of Raphael that on more than one occasion had centered around his eyes. Nothing special about those drawings, the dude's eyes were just unrealistically green, and it was kind of fascinating. But he knew others would probably see it differently, so no way he'd be showing that around. Luckily she didn't seem to read too much into the situation and did not ask questions.

He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, where were we?" he said, his voice husky and back to business, and this time he was hungry.

He pressed his lips to hers, one hand coming up to rest at her cheek, guiding her, and she shifted on her seat to face him, allowing him better access. His mouth battled against hers as the hand that had been rubbing soft circles on her leg ventured backwards. A little too far back, actually. Her hands, until then idly resting on the couch, sprung upwards to grip Casey's arms in a reflex, snatching them away from her glutes, the kiss broken.

"Whoa, don't get ahead of yourself there, Case."

"Sorry, it slipped," Casey said through his gap-toothed grin before shoving himself forward, drowning her exasperated groan in his mouth, and a small part of her was glad their mouths were closed. To be honest, she was a little insecure about being able to feel the gap of his missing teeth with her tongue.

What had started off cautious and slow had become greedy, yearning. Both his hands came up to cup her cheeks, holding her face like... a sub sandwich. _Yes_ , thought April, fighting the urge to laugh. _He's eating my face like a sub sandwich._

A little disoriented, April tried to follow his rhythm. He'd clearly done this before. She, on the other hand, couldn't help worrying that she wasn't doing this right. Was it weird that she couldn't stop noticing his nose awkwardly rubbing against her face?

She forced herself to focus on the right sensations as she conjured up the things she'd seen being done in movies. She slid her hands up along the side of his sleeves to rest them on his shoulders and he responded in kind, bringing her closer.

Yep. There she was, sharing her first kiss with Casey.

And somehow all she could think about suddenly was how this wasn't _technically_ her first kiss.

Just like that, she was spirited away back to the farmhouse. The sky was a bright blue and spring was in full force, assaulting her nose with a thousand different types of pollen. The weather was warm, the landscape a radiant green, and there was dirt from the firewood on her hands.

And she was kissing Donnie.

It had lasted but a couple of heartbeats, but during that span she'd felt a jolt. Electricity. It might as well have been a ripple in the fabric of the universe, enveloping them both in their own little cocoon where time made no sense and a single millisecond could stretch into a lifetime. Her mind had raced with a thousand sudden realizations that had made her head spin. It was all over so fast, and yet so much had happened that she had been unable to wrap her head around it all. To this day, she still didn't quite know what to do with it.

Something shifted, and she came stumbling back to reality.

What happened was that Casey's lips had suddenly left hers and he was leaning back, giving her a questioning look.

"Uh, was that okay?"

Her reply leaped forth like a spring.

"Yeah!"

Casey's face didn't show much conviction, so she thought she'd help it along, taking the initiative and leaning forward to practically slam her lips against his so they could continue. Anything to keep him from asking. Anything to keep her own mind distracted from the sudden bombardment of pictures and sounds and smells that were so very far away from this couch.

 _Excellent timing, April_ , she thought. She could not have picked a worse moment to suddenly ask herself what it would be like to do this with Donnie, to be sitting next to each other, his oversized, three-fingered hand on her cheek, so strange yet so familiar; she wondered what her fingertips would feel like over the distinct texture of his skin, tracing along the fibrous muscles on his neck and shoulders, their foreheads touching, exploring each other's…

 _Goddamn it._

She was doing it again. Casey paused, unable to ignore her blatant lack of participation any longer.

"What?" he asked, and he hadn't meant to make it sound so much like a complaint rather than an actual question.

"What?" she echoed, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Seriously, are you okay? I've had more passionate kisses with my grandma."

April looked at her own hands and realized they had not moved from Casey's shoulders since she had consciously put them there. They were pretty much just glued to his shirt, stiff as shoulderguards, and her pose wasn't all too avid either, merely indulging Casey's ministrations with aloof consent.

She gave a slow exhale, shifting away from Casey and the embrace of his arms.

"I... I guess I'm not up for it tonight," she muttered apologetically, glancing sideways at Casey's face of dejection. His hands fell to his sides as he struggled to form words.

"Is this about Donnie?" he managed to ask, unable to hide his tone of resentment.

"No!" _Yes_ , thought April. "Why does everything have to be about Donnie?!" _No, really, tell me. I'd love an answer._

"Okay, sorry..." he apologized, beaten, throwing his hands in the air as he too sat back on the couch, hitting the backrest with a defeated poof. Her shoulders curved forward in shame.

"No, I'm sorry, Casey. It's just that… I'm dealing with a lot of things right now, and… I'm just a little tired."

The kid appraised her carefully, gauging her words. She always had too much on her mind, she was always dealing with too many things. There was always something bigger than all of them. It seemed to be her go-to response for everything. But he just couldn't reproach her when she looked even more beaten up than he was, somehow. Even when the evening might not have ended the way he wanted, he couldn't bring himself to be angry.

"Look, don't worry about it, April," he said reassuringly. "We got time for all that. I promise next date I won't voluntarily engage in any street brawls until after the movie."

"Hmm," she mused, somewhat appeased by his words, but still feeling the stabs of guilt for having ruined what was supposed to have been a magical moment. At least she could console herself with the thought of having been granted a reprieve. _Another chance at procrastination_ , a little voice said in her head, and she battled with the urge to hide her face in her hands.

A sudden gust of epic music startled her, and they turned towards the laptop.

"Oh look," Casey said cheerfully. "The sound's back. We can finish watching."

If the movie had been hard to follow before, she doubted either of them could focus on it at all now, but still April rewarded his patience with a grateful smile.

He slid one arm across her shoulders, watching for any sign of disapproval. But she let her head rest on him, and he moved to accommodate himself against her as well. They were just friends tonight, apparently.

She realized immediately this was a sad alternative to what he probably had in mind when she had offered him a date, and the blunt, persistent knives of guilt were back with a vengeance.

Apparently she'd been foolish to think that once here, things would flow naturally. Casey and her having fun was nothing at all new. They had gone out plenty of times and they got along just fine. Most of the times...

And not counting Casey playing tough guy -and getting his ass kicked, and them missing the show-, today had run relatively easy.

Right up until the moment of truth.

What had gone wrong? She liked Casey, right? She'd go so far as to say she'd had a little crush on him. He had made her giggle and bat her eyelashes on more than one occasion; she _had_ to like him. At times, however, she had asked herself why, and when she did she could never come up with a clear answer. It wasn't like they had all that much in common, really. And yes, he could benefit from a good dental plan… As well as a dip in a barrel of detergent, clothes and all.

But he was also the cool kid, charming in his own way. The high school version of an outlaw. His casual disregard for the rules made him every sixteen-year-old girl's rebel fantasy. And back then she couldn't help being that sixteen-year-old girl…

Of course, since then she had had plenty of time to get to really know Casey, and with time that initial excitement had faded somewhat. Getting to know Casey meant also learning a few things in the process; the good… and the insufferable.

What happened at the park was only the tip of the iceberg. April had lost count of all the times she had felt the need to evacuate the premises and take a breather after trying to reason with his thick skull. But that didn't mean they weren't close. And Casey had never stopped asking. Every other night he would drop the same old question. After all this time, it had become a habit for the two of them. An inside joke; their way of saying goodnight. "How about a date?" "Nope." "'Kay, see ya!"

So much so that at one point it became hard to tell whether it even meant anything at all to either of them. The word 'date' seemed to have lost all meaning. And then not even a week ago, the very same word was suddenly squirming around in her tummy like koi trapped in a washbowl.

Because when Casey had asked for the umpteenth time, she had thought to herself "what the heck, I could give him a chance, maybe it's just what we all need right now". And that's when the consequent faceplant against reality had rendered her absolutely catatonic. Even after deciding to go for it next time he asked, it had still taken her six whole days to act on this decision. Even though Casey kept asking.

Finally, last night at Murakami's, she had gathered all her courage to give Casey a chance. And then after Casey's routine question, she had said yes.

Call it a field test. Trial by fire.

But how was she supposed to tell Casey the real reason she didn't want to tell anybody was because she wasn't all that confident that this would work out, that she was pretty much just testing the waters? As much as she hoped, she didn't know if this date business was going to go horribly, and if that were the case, then letting everybody know -letting Donnie know- would be the cause for much unnecessary pain. It was better if this stayed between Casey and her in case it went sideways, and then maybe afterwards she could come clean. When she was sure.

But not now, not when there were so many things she just didn't know.

It didn't help that she'd only recently started feeling… stuff. For Donnie. Not even the usual where she secretly might want to kiss him. This was new stuff that confused her just a bit, especially because she had already discarded the possibility of even trying something with him.

She looked back, not two weeks ago, just when these things were starting to click together nicely in her head and she was finally starting to figure everything out. Finally she was getting to where she wanted to be, and dad had been feeling much better.

That was before that one fight which, to her consternation, had ended in her father's worst anxiety attack in months. Usually April avoided any kind of argument with her father. He was, after all, still recovering from not just one traumatic experience, but a myriad of them. She just hadn't expected him to bring the turtles into it. And Donnie. And she hadn't hesitated to come to their defense.

 _It was just a fight. All he said was that he was worried about me. Besides, people say stupid things when they're upset,_ she kept telling herself. But hard as she tried, his words still resonated in her mind.

April stole a sideways glance at Casey's profile, the cold light of the laptop outlining his crooked hockey nose, and tried to concentrate on being here with him, the warmth of his arm around her shoulders. She sighed, softly so he wouldn't notice, and gathered her thoughts.

 _Let's not be hasty. Like Casey said, you'll get more chances to start something. You guys like each other, you have fun together._

 _It's all going to work out. You'll see. One way or the other._


	6. Chapter 6

**F** **inally some first hand Apriltello and Leorai - if you squint!**

 **Thank you so much to our beta readers Queequegg and TheHeroComplex. You guys are the best and we don't know what we'd do without you.**

 **As always, co-written by me and Violette-Aner. Look her up on tumblr or on DA.**

* * *

That morning Donatello was near impossible to tear from his computer, and only Leonardo knew the real reason.

It's not like it was a rare thing, when his intelligent brother found a new project to get excited over. Often a task just wouldn't get done before bedtime, and then he would pull out the cot, set it up in a corner of the lab and _pretend_ to sleep there. This time it had been his fear of missing future Donatello's next message that had kept him in his lab all night. When Leonardo entered the lab, he had found the nest of blankets over the cot and his brother buried deep within. Knowing Donnie, he had probably spent more time waiting for his T-Phone or his computer to beep at any moment than trying to get any real sleep.

Leonardo had gone in with an offer of breakfast, but he still wouldn't budge from his seat, so what he did was bring breakfast to him. At least that way he could make sure he ate something, even when the look he got from Donatello when he saw the piece of toast—topped with muesli and sesame seeds—was nowhere near gratitude.

"Seriously, Donnie, you don't get enough sleep," Leonardo said, ignoring the consequent eye-roll.

"I'm perfectly fine," Donnie replied, voice still thick and a shadow under his eyes peeking from beneath the purple fabric, none of which were good alibis for his words.

Leonardo pointedly nudged the plate closer to the keyboard and then stepped out to let him eat his breakfast in peace before anyone accused him of nagging. But one thing he was not about to do was let Donnie skip the workout. It was time for their morning training; everybody was already gathering in the dojo, and Donnie was going to train like all the others, whether he got six hours of sleep or half. After the exercise, he would make Donnie drink a nice cup of lemon balm tea and hopefully get him to lie down for a few hours.

When April showed up at the turnstiles and Donnie was still not out of his lab, Leonardo decided to pull out the big guns. If there was anyone that could convince Donnie to move, it was April. However another closer look at her stopped the request from even leaving his mouth. She looked a little worse for wear, heavy-lidded and heavy-footed.

"How's everything?" he asked as he walked with her to the dojo steps, and he could tell she was forcing her eyes open in an attempt to look awake, and not like she was about to pass out.

"Good!" she lied, but was obviously not up for chatting, so Leonardo thought it better not to insist.

"Well, you go ahead, April. I'm going to go get Dr. Nefario out of his cave. Last night was one those nights."

"Good luck." She smirked like she knew exactly what he meant, climbing up the remaining steps. Her movements a tad slow, she tripped and barely caught herself from crashing into one of the columns nose-first before acting like nothing just happened.

"Hm," Leonardo said, brow furrowed before turning around to make his way towards the lab, to haul Donnie to the dojo himself if he had to. That's when he spotted Karai, scurrying inside the lab. And barely a moment later she was out again, carrying something in a bundle and Donnie following closely behind.

They hadn't noticed him, and Leonardo watched behind the arches as they both shared an earnest thumbs up before Karai trailed off to the bathroom, leaving Donnie to climb the steps by himself.

 _Well, aren't they getting along just wonderfully, those two?_ a little voice mumbled inside Leo's head as he quickly stepped out of his sight. He huffed and mentally slapped the thought away, not wanting to make it a big deal, before sitting down on the carpets in front of Master Splinter with April and his brothers.

Donnie joined them only a few seconds after and everybody turned their heads when they heard him enter.

"What's taking so long?" Raph griped, and the same question could be seen on Splinter's stern expression.

"I was, uh, helping Karai out with something. She says to wait for her," Donatello said apologetically as he went to sit on his heels between April and Raph, a twinkle of a smile in his sleepy eyes.

Leonardo felt the unexpected sting of suspicion again, but did his best to ignore it.

They'd been sitting for a few minutes and Splinter was calmly pacing around the dojo while the rest waited with different degrees of impatience when Raphael thought to express his boredom with a loud groan.

"Why are we all just sitting here like mushrooms again?" he groused in his usual 'I-don't-give-a-damn-about-anything-but-kicking-ass' tone.

"Mmmm, mushrooms."

"For the third time, Raph," Donnie drawled, "Karai wants to show us something."

Raphael groaned again.

"That spells trouble. A few months ago, if she said anything like that we'd be running in the opposite direction, fast."

"Don't say those things, Raph!" Leo spat under his breath, casting a sideways glance at Splinter. "Especially not in front of her!"

Raph rolled his eyes. He had never believed in being overprotective towards Karai, and he enforced these beliefs everyday at all times, just to be safe.

"Are you sure she said she wanted to show _all_ of us? It sounds like something she'd want just Leo for," Raph jested.

Leonardo heard what seemed to be a discreet grunt of distaste coming from Splinter's corner of the room where he stood, but it didn't stop Raphael's smile of derision.

It was all Leo could do to hide his embarrassment in his disciplined posture, sitting stiff as a plank and hoping it wouldn't show on his cheeks. He didn't even bother with Raph. His block-head of a brother never really made any efforts with him when it came to Karai, or with Donnie and April for that matter. He always went out of his way to prove both his brothers were idiots who didn't know any better.

"She was very clear, Raph. She meant everyone," Donatello said, the strain in his voice a sign that his patience, like Leonardo's, was wearing thin.

Then from right outside the dojo came Karai's voice.

"Okay, guys! Ready or not, here I come!"

"Everybody hit the deck!" Raph yelled in mock-urgency.

"Funny, Raph! Maybe I can help you with that. With my boot," Karai's voice snarked before it was followed by Karai herself, and Leo suppressed the smack that he was going to give Raph at the sight of her.

Karai stood at the threshold. She was wearing new armor over her regular black clothes, made from brown leather and speckled by a multitude of metallic rivets arranged in decorative patterns. The dark specks gave off the faintest pinpoint glimmers in the hard sunlight filtering through the grates in the ceiling as she strolled her way to the middle of the dojo.

Suddenly AC/DC's "Back in Black" started blaring from the T-Phone held high in Donatello's hand. A mischievous smile was plastered on his face, and he got a couple of finger guns from Karai for his trouble as she started her catwalk in front of the line of ninjas.

"Whoa-ho-hoa!" Mikey hollered loudly over the music, hands up in a three-fingered interpretation of rock-on hands. "Looking good, Karaiwa!"

Everybody's interest was piqued, so much that no one even batted an eye to their sister's new name, courtesy of Mikey. They were all too preoccupied with the spectacle to even hear it. Leonardo, for instance, had suddenly lost his voice. He gulped, starting to feel rather sweaty underneath his elbow and knee pads as Karai showed off her impressive new look.

The armor was a revamp of her old Foot armor, redesigned in tough leather that went nicely with the rest of the group's aesthetics while still retaining that attitude that was so Karai. An iron ring buckle much like the one Splinter wore held her sash in place, making her look as if they were both in a kind of Hamato uniform. Elegant. Stylish. But very practical. And together with that new haircut… Well, it was turning Leo into a wax sculpture that had been left under the heat of the spotlight for too long.

"So that's what you two were up to in the lab!" Raphael cried suddenly, giving Donnie a jumbo pat on the shell and the purple-clad brother nearly choked on his own spit. "I was starting to worry!"

"Me too! About the whole world conquering and stuff!" Mikey added, getting a giggle out of the kunoichi in question.

Leonardo suppressed an agreeing nod. Yes, he had worried as well. A little bit. Not for the same reason as Mikey did exactly… but yeah.

"It was all Karai, though. I only provided the workspace," Donnie said, seemingly unaware of the way Leonardo was watching them.

He had never even considered the possibility before recently, and he was certain Donnie still was very much in love with April. But he couldn't help become uneasy after all those hours spent inside the lab, the two together, being quiet and secretive. He knew they'd been hiding something, but it had taken him a good amount of effort to convince himself that neither of them had that kind of interest in each other. Karai was an amazing woman, after all. Who _wouldn't_ fall for her? Not only that, but she had been known to use her knowledge of that to achieve her objectives.

Without even realizing it, he had turned to look at April, and was surprised to find his own doubts etched in her expression as well, or at least… at least that's what it looked like for a brief moment there before Donnie turned to look at her and she looked away, pretending to watch Karai.

"So what do you think?" Karai asked, stopping to pose between Leo and Splinter, her eyes flicking from one to the other.

 _She's so beautiful,_ Leo thought. _She's so beautiful I want to die. Say something, she's waiting!_

"It's so pretty!" he cawed, and immediately ducked his head, embarrassed by what had just come out of his mouth.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Mikey agreed loudly, awe sparkling in his eyes, and Leo had to thank him mentally for providing a distraction so he could collect himself.

Karai felt herself swelling with pride, and something else that wasn't all that familiar to her. It felt more than satisfactory; it was… nice. Very nice. All those shouts of approval, the awe in their eyes, they were warming her right through.

And the look on Leo…

Karai allowed herself a low giggle, snatching a glance at the blue-clad brother before turning to Splinter, who in turn had been extremely quiet. Hands behind his back and studious glance under his thick white eyebrows, Karai couldn't quite read him. At last, she held her breath and tipped her head up to face him, a question in her eyes.

"You made this yourself?" Splinter asked, his eyes lingering on the chest piece and the barely perceptible engraving of the clan's symbol on the leather. And that glimmer in his gaze finally gave him away, his chest puffed out.

"Yes, father. I wanted to surprise you," she said with a low bow.

Splinter approached her, his tall form towering over her, and put both his hands on her shoulders making her stand upright so he could look in her eyes.

"You did! It is magnificent, my daughter. You did an excellent job," Splinter said, still admiring the result of her dedication. Beaming.

"Thank you, father," Karai replied, captivated by Splinter's approval. It felt strange, having a father who smiled at her, and hugged her and felt deeply proud of her simply because she was his daughter. Such a feeling, which had once been so foreign to her, was the most beautiful thing she had experienced in her life.

"I gotta tell ya, it's a whole different deal seeing it on," Donnie said, and Leo tore his eyes from Karai in time to catch his brother's smile, reaching from ear to ear as he glanced at Leo and the thunderstruck look that he hadn't realized was so obvious on his face.

"It's beautiful. Makes me want to get an armor of my own," April said.

Karai then shot Donatello what was clearly meant to be a covert wink, but Leonardo saw it. Donnie's smile widened, shoulders giving off the lightest of tremors, and Leo's brow furrowed a little deeper, wondering what it meant.

"Is it comfortable?" April asked in all interest, looking at the suit with eyes that were avid even when puffy from an obvious lack of sleep. Up until then she'd been practically sleepwalking, but Karai's surprise appeared to have coaxed her out of her lethargy.

"It needs a little breaking in, but otherwise it's lighter and more maneuverable than my old steel armor," Karai replied, performing a few moves to try it out.

"Certainly looks versatile," Donnie observed.

"We'll just have to see if it holds up outside the catwalk," Raphael said through a baleful grin, and Karai responded in kind, striking a combat pose.

"Well, how about we try it right now, brother?"

"Anytime, sister." Raphael cracked his neck, stalking towards her ready to pounce.

"Yame!"

Splinter's order resounded around the dojo, and everybody, including Karai and Raph, stopped in their tracks to stand on attention facing their teacher.

"Warm-up! In silence!"

Splinter was back in sensei mode, his tone terse and commanding. But he still had one smile left to spare for his daughter before she joined the group in their warm-up rounds.

* * *

Training went by according to routine. They stretched, they did their breathing exercises, practiced their katas; Raph bullied Mikey when he thought Splinter wasn't looking and Leo was the definition of self control as he'd actually managed not to stare at Karai and the way that armor snugly fit her form, though it did take a good amount of concentration.

April's bout of wakefulness, however, was short-lived. Once it had been necessary for her to display any form of agility or reflexes, all her resolve had come tumbling down and she soon regretted coming to the dojo that day.

She had barely made it through the lesson, running on fear of disappointment alone, when Splinter started dividing them into pairs for the final sparring exercise: unarmed hand-to-hand combat.

Leo was visibly relieved when Splinter paired him up with Mikey, because that way he didn't have to go up against Karai and her new suit. Raph, on the other hand, seemed absolutely thrilled to have been pit against her.

"Yes! I was hoping to be able to help you break into that suit, Karai! "

"Much appreciated, brother," she said sweetly. "But try not to hurt yourself in the process."

"Sister, I'm going to tenderize it like yesterday's leftover steak."

Mikey giggled.

"I just love when you guys smack talk," he said. "It's so cheesy."

Leo was already poised for combat staring Mikey down, but snickered at the exchange and the look of aggravation on Raph's face. Karai didn't seem at all bothered by the comment, coming from Mikey. She was probably glad it managed to warm Raph up for her.

"Face your opponent!" Splinter commanded, looking over each of his pupils. He would have to keep a close eye on Raph and Karai especially. If they had to fight, then they better do it with a sense of sportsmanship. However this kind of rivalry was prone to cause accidents. He already had a moral speech in mind for when he found himself ultimately forced to break them apart.

"Don't you dare go easy on me, Donnie. You always do that."

Splinter only barely turned his head to the pair at the far end of the room, but his keen rat ears picked up every word.

Donatello's brow twitched at the girl's comment.

"I do not! I merely adjust to your level," Donatello retorted, and immediately regretted those words. "That's- that's not… I didn't mean to be offensive, what I meant is… If we were characters in a game of Mazes and Mutants, if you will, you'd be a lower level than me and… and that made it worse," he chuckled hopelessly.

"Just _please_ beat the crap out of me, Donnie," she grumbled and the turtle let out a little snicker in reaction.

"Well, I don't believe I've ever had anyone say those words to me, in that order."

But April was clearly not in the mood at the moment, judging by her unwavering glare. So Donatello thought it best to zip it for now and mirrored her ready stance, eyes narrowed in concentration. A flash of purple caught his attention for a moment, there among the ginger locks, tucked away underneath April's headband. He hadn't noticed that before. When did she get streaks? Pretty.

He quickly filed that away to comment on later when they had time to talk.

She saw it; the little approving quirk of his eyebrow ridges, and it tugged at the corner of her mouth despite herself —a welcome detour from her current thoughts— before they both locked eyes again, waiting for the signal.

"Hajime!"

The dojo was suddenly flooded with the sounds of battle, the padding and stomping of feet on carpet and the dull thuds of the impacts on flesh and bone. Splinter appraised the various matches under his critical eye, pacing his way around the dojo, hands behind his back, starting at the far end where April and Donatello had engaged in what was a rather unremarkable fight.

Splinter had known something was out of sorts with April the moment she came in the dojo, despite her attempts at concealing it. Something was certainly troubling her as of late and it was hindering her performance. The impetuous young woman was usually passionate and intuitive, with that fire that he himself had admired from the very first day he started teaching her. He had been certain even then that she would one day become a great kunoichi. It was hard to believe this was that same girl.

Once training had begun, her grouchiness had been hard to miss; she was sluggish and hasty in her movements, missing her cues, her katas sloppy and aloof. And that attitude had plainly transferred to her match against Donatello, who seemed at a complete loss, a look of concern etched across his face, and Splinter knew he had done well in pairing her off with him.

His son had mentioned that she had been having trouble sleeping lately because of exam stress, although something told him there was more to it. He didn't want to meddle—she already had her father for that—but it worried him, and if it went on like this he would definitely have to intervene.

"Your head and heart are not in the fight, April! Show some enthusiasm," he shouted over the ruckus.

An apathetic "hai, sensei" was her only attempt at a proper acknowledgement. Splinter gave a throaty grunt of disapproval, but moved on to the next match, trusting those two to work something out on their own.

Raphael and Karai were a whole different thing altogether. Loud and brash, they were a cyclone of claws and growls, like a wild dog fight.

It was imperative that he kept one eye on them while he supervised the rest.

And as for Leonardo and Michelangelo, they probably were the most notable contrast. Leonardo was disciplined and efficient, never one to waste his energy on vague strikes. Michelangelo was frantic, light on his feet as though there was always music in his head. Compared to him, Leonardo was almost static, like a snake waiting to strike at the right moment, when his prey would come within its reach.

Splinter was used to this, watching over several of his children at the same time. It was a skill he had developed long ago out of sheer necessity, when they were but these tiny things crawling around, so easy to lose sight of.

And it was this skill that granted him the ability to see every crinkle in his sons' brows, every flicker of their eyes and every waiver in their voice. They might think he wouldn't notice certain things, but Leonardo's special attention for Karai was never lost on him. Splinter could see the way he deliberately _wasn't_ looking at her.

He had to make sure this wouldn't be a distraction. Even while still watching over Raphael and Karai, Splinter examined Leonardo's and Michelangelo's match with a critical eye, taking note of their performance.

It was quite astounding, how fast Michelangelo could be. When his orange clad son was motivated, he was like an explosion of shrapnel; a succession of lightning quick hits, his rapidly moving form a series of blotches on the retina. This approach worked wonders against outside opponents who could never see him coming, but Leonardo knew his brother all too well.

One time Michelangelo got too close, and Leonardo crouched to sweep his foot under him. But Michelangelo only backflipped out of the way, untouched, and started circling Leo like an excited chihuahua.

"Stop hopping around and play some offense!" Leonardo cried, trying not to follow his brother with his gaze or else he'd get dizzy real fast.

"This is my offense, bra! I'm wearing you out! That's how I roll! Woooooo!"

Michelangelo performed a few circus grade flips around Leonardo, bouncing off the dojo's tree and scoring a few slaps and tugs of his bandana, taunting him. Leonardo gritted his teeth, but waited… waited… until finally in one unexpected swoop he grabbed him mid-flip around his shoulders and neck and drove him shell-first into the floor with a loud thump.

"Aughhhh… good one, Leo…" Mikey croaked, sprawled as he was on the carpet. Leonardo stood victorious over him.

"Up, Michelangelo! The fight isn't over!" Splinter said behind them before turning his head back to the adjacent pair.

"Okay," Michelangelo squeaked, but was soon up in one jump as if nothing happened and he hadn't just been body-slammed against the ground. He stood, dancing on his heels, lips pursed in concentration, ready for more.

They circled each other, their eyes locked trying to predict the other's first move. Mikey kept moving somewhat erratically, waggling his entire body—and was he humming?

Leo attacked first, going for a frontal assault, but Mikey's reflexes were too quick. He dodged the fist and threw out his own, which connected with Leo's chin. Leo reeled with a cry of surprise and Mikey barked a celebratory guffaw before ducking his head to avoid the next strike. And the next, and the next. The onslaught put Mikey back in flight mode, when it was damn near impossible to land a good hit, and Leonardo gritted his teeth in exasperation.

"Can't touch this, bra!" Mikey cried jubilantly, dancing and prancing about as though dodging a Kraang laser machine gun, while Leo just watched in deepest annoyance. He stealthily pressed down on the carpet with his foot and tugged. Mikey lost his footing when the floor moved beneath him and he tumbled face first into the rug.

Leo sought to take advantage of his adversary's fall and plunged forward with a roar. But Mikey rolled out of the way in time to avoid his fist. He capered about in the air, landing cleanly on his feet facing Leonardo, who was on him in an instant with a new tirade of furious punches. Mikey blocked them one by one, and swat away an oncoming kick to the side when Leonardo finally pinned him to the wall.

 _Now you're mine,_ his inner voice growled, confidence surging pleasantly through him when he finally managed to get his hyperactive flea of a brother exactly where he wanted, which was quite the achievement if he said so himself.

He was looking Mikey dead in the eye through the blurry haze of his own fists and elbows that Michelangelo was desperately trying to block when suddenly at the corner of his eye he caught something.

A flash of a smile, a pair of staring eyes.

His head flicked around ever so slightly, in a reflex triggered by his most deep-seeded instincts, to see Karai giving him a look that could've melted concrete. The moment lasted but for a split-second before she turned her attention back to Raphael's charging mass.

He didn't see what happened next because in the brief moment that his mind had been elsewhere, Mikey had broken his defenses, shoving him off and landing a spinning kick to his temple.

And Leonardo was thrown sideways into the carpet.

"Aw, yeah, son!" the victor shouted.

"Keep your focus on your own fight, Leonardo!" Splinter said harshly, when in truth he was grinning inwardly, fully aware of what had transpired between the two youngsters.

"Hai, sensei," Leonardo responded dejectedly, rubbing the side of his face if only to hide his humiliation from Karai, who was sporting a triumphant smile even after having been brutally tackled to the ground herself by a boastful Raphael.

* * *

She'd been distracted for a fraction of a second, and Raph had rewarded her accordingly for that.

 _Worth it_ , Karai thought as she propped herself up on her elbow clasping her palm against her side.

"Guess you're outta luck, sis. See, your little seductress numbers don't work on me," Raph crooned over her, an ample grin on his smug face. Big mistake.

She kept up the charade until Raph was close enough, and just when he seemed most confident, she shot out her leg and tripped him, and he fell on his rear. Just like that, they'd suddenly changed places, and now Karai stood tall, chuckling devilishly at the look of shock on Raph's face which was quickly morphing into one of unalloyed hatred.

"Luckily, a kunoichi has a whole arsenal of secret weapons at her disposal, none of which you've probably even heard of."

Raphael got up in a squat.

"Let's see you pit them against these, huh?" he growled, flashing his bulging biceps before lunging right at her like a derailed train. Another mistake.

Karai was lightning quick, dodging Raph's charge with an easy roll.

He skidded on the rugs and before he could turn to face her again she was jabbing her knuckles into the tender spot at the back of his knee, making him lose his balance.

She rolled to position herself at his side and Raph barely dodged her foot but by the width of a hair, feeling it graze against his cheek.

Karai hoisted herself up to get away but Raph landed a furious punch on her stomach and she bent over with a puff.

A second punch connected with her face as she tried to move away, but she managed to block the third strike with her bracelet, causing the turtle to lose his footing, giving herself some time to recoil. By the time the fourth strike came, she was ready.

Using Raph's own momentum against him, Karai intercepted his fist and yanked. Raph ran face first into her knee, letting out a cry of pain through the hands now covering his own snout, eyes glossy with tears. Karai took this opportunity to slither around him, shooting back her heel and throwing Raphael on his plastron so she could immediately climb on his carapace to lock both his arms at his back, immobilizing him.

As he struggled to break free, the kunoichi leaned in to whisper sweetly in his ear.

"Awww, already? I hoped a big, strong boy like you would last me a little more. How disappointing."

She basked in the way his body tensed with rage before letting him go. Raph twisted himself out of the lock with a war cry and Karai's lips spread into an impish grin, all ready to test out another secret kunoichi weapon on Raphael: to get him pissed off his wits.

"Tell you what; if you last 20 seconds I'll call it a draw."

Karai basked in the fire burning in Raph's eyes, grinning in anticipation.

Witness to this furious exchange, Splinter had expected having to scold Raph for going too far with Karai, but as it turned out Karai was more than able to take him on, and was in fact enjoying it, with that hint of sadism that she so unabashedly displayed whenever she bested someone in combat.

Just as Karai intended, Raph's rage had flushed all his better judgement down the toilet, thus making it very easy for her to thoroughly kick his ass once more.

"Raph, you're too easy!" she laughed after the fourth time the angry turtle had kissed the floor.

"Brute force isn't everything, Raphael!" Splinter said for what felt like the hundredth time. "She is winning because you are letting her get to you. Control. Think!"

"Yeah, Raph. Think," Karai mocked in an infuriating singsong.

Raph curled his lips into a snarl, but stood his ground, and Splinter could almost hear his own words inside his son's head. _Like a river over stone, like a river over stone…_ That is if he could even hear it over the sound of his grinding teeth...

Splinter shook his head slowly, certain that this wasn't the end of it by a long shot. The death glares they were giving each other were but the eye of the hurricane. However his eyes drifted off to April, as she was currently standing there throwing angry punches at the sky under Donatello's look of distress.

* * *

"Is something the matter, April?" Splinter asked calmly, and immediately April's arms stopped thrashing to hang limp and bashful at her sides. She gave her sensei a breathless smile.

"I'm just having one of those days, Master Splinter." She shrugged.

Donatello was mute, like a dog whose master is angry and it doesn't know why.

"Whatever it is, you are letting it win. Focus that energy on the fight, not the air."

"Hai, sensei," she replied, simply out of respect. Splinter only offered a short "hmm" and went back to watching over Karai and Raphael, much to April's relief.

Her mood gauge had finally plummeted, from mild crankiness down to plain emotional wreckage. April really couldn't remember a worse training session where she was just incapable of doing anything right, and every botched attempt only added to her frustration. Even when perfectly aware that she had fallen into a vicious cycle—and on top of everything she was taking it out on Donnie—she was a bit too angry about nothing and everything at the moment. She just wanted to punch the wall and scream and it didn't help one bit that Donatello was looking at her like she was a time bomb and he was at a loss for which cable to cut.

Donatello, on the other hand, wouldn't even ask if she was alright, or what was wrong, or anything. He had already tried that and it didn't do much good. So he just submissively lowered his head and waited for her to return to the match. He heard her sigh loudly before she turned towards him, holding his gaze in an air of defiance, daring him to say anything, but he only pressed his lips.

"Do me a favor and don't hold back, because every time you do you're just making me feel like a lousy kunoichi," she said finally, her voice tense like guitar strings.

"You're not lousy!" Donnie protested.

"Then let me prove it! Come on, give it your best!" she demanded, beckoning him closer with her hands, a challenge in her eyes, and Donnie found himself in a conundrum.

Any other day he had no problem hitting her when it was fair, and he also knew for a fact that she hated being given special treatment. And usually that was reasonable, because she really was far from lousy, and had always had a knack for the martial arts.

But the way she'd been performing today, she was practically asking for a thrashing. There was just no competition in her. Maybe Raph would be okay with it, arguing that it would build her character or some crap, but not him. He doubted it would help her at all. Not when she was plainly so miserable, sweaty, flushed and exhausted, but still oh so stubborn. And just thinking about what could be upsetting her so much was twisting his insides.

Notwithstanding, April could get pretty intimidating when she felt contradicted. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Donnie, I swear to God, either you stop treating me like a lady or this is the last time I spar with you."

Donnie straightened up like a meerkat, his brow knitted in disbelief. That's what it was, then? Well, he took offense to that! She thought he was undervaluing her, did she? And she wanted him to be ruthless and inconsiderate? Fine. Then he would be!

...to an extent…

"Okay, April," he said evenly, flexing his knees in a determined, combat-ready stance and watching her do the same.

She gave a long exhale, taking a few seconds to focus.

Then, as unexpectedly as she managed, she attacked, going for a frontal strike at Donnie's plastron. He blocked effortlessly, snatched her arm, twisting it until it went rigid while pivoting around himself. April grunted in surprise before she could even see the elbow coming right at her guts.

She doubled over, pausing to rub her shoulder but for a heartbeat. And before she had time to adopt a new defensive position, Donnie was already sweeping his leg underneath her. His foot hooked onto her ankle and she lost her balance. Her knee connected painfully with the floor and she rolled to avoid Donnie's finishing jab on the back that would've stamped her into the rug.

He recoiled nimbly from her pirouette as she strived to break her own momentum, her muscles in strain.

Once her feet were again firm underneath her, she threw a rotating kick. Donatello blocked with a rock-hard forearm, the impact knocking her off balance. As she was forced to lower her leg back down to try to regain her stability, Donnie used this instant of hesitation to shove a hand into her solar plexus. The thrust propelled her backwards and she landed on her butt with a cry of pain.

When she lifted her gaze, she saw Donatello standing there looking at her with an apologetic wince that only made her angrier.

And he wasn't even breaking a sweat.

She pushed herself off the floor with a growl, jaw set, and stood facing him. He immediately adopted a ready stance again and they looked in each other's eyes. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the first move.

April took her time, gauging him, thinking of ways she could fool her way past his defenses. She would try to catch him off guard this time.

She baited him with a step forward and feigned a punch. It seemed to work for a millisecond as Donnie flinched to avoid it.

But he quickly saw through her ruse. He moved in time to block the kick that she'd tried to sneak in from the side.

As he dodged her, he put her arm in a lock and pushed to unbalance her, then pulled, twisted on the spot, jamming his back against April's torso and flinging her over his carapace. Her back and pelvis bounced against the rug and she gave a strangled cry.

Just like that, the match was over. And before it had even begun.

That had been humiliatingly quick...

Okay, she'd been pretty awful throughout the entire session, but this had been the first time she regretted demanding Donnie gave his best. He was friggin' untouchable. This is how he fared even when he was supposed to be tired from lack of rest!

Suddenly she had a realization: _all_ the turtles had been going easy on her, not just Donnie. And this didn't help her self-esteem at all.

April cursed through her teeth and stomped her heels on the carpet before rolling to her feet again, ready to face Donnie and try once more.

She was sweating profusely now, her bangs sticking to her forehead and stinging her eyes with the salt of her own perspiration. But she would not grant herself the comfort of surrender.

She waited for Donnie to mimic her pose, but instead of that, he put his hands up in an offer of peace and approached her. He spoke in a low voice so as not to call Splinter's attention. He probably wanted to baby her with words of unconditional support and she was in no mood for that today.

"Sorr-"

"Don't you apologize for that!" she cut him off, resisting the urge to massage her aching glutes. "We're sparring, it's what you're supposed to do."

"I know," he said, and his mouth started curving upwards in a mischievous grin. "I was gonna say 'sorry for still going easy on you'."

April gave him a death stare, which actually didn't last long before it dissolved into a snarky grin. Eventually that also gave way to an actual smile, even if it was a nervous kind of smile, brimmed with embarrassment and exhaustion.

 _I guess it would be okay to rest for a minute_ , she thought, her stance melting until suddenly she found herself sitting on the floor.

Donnie finally deemed it safe to squat in front of her and she in turn crossed her legs, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath. She exhaled; a long, tired sigh.

"Boy, I suck today."

She was sure he was going to contradict her, but instead she saw him nod his head.

"You're sucking stellarly," he admitted, and she couldn't help but press her lips into a thin line, even when technically this was exactly what she'd asked of him.

"Hey, you asked for it," he said right on cue.

"Well, you didn't have to be so blunt."

"Come on, April. I can say that because I know this isn't your usual you. You're just having a bad day, it happens to all of us. You're actually a great fighter."

April gave a disheartened chortle.

"I hope you're not patronizing me, Donnie. You know how much I hate that."

"I am _not_ patronizing you, April!" Donnie retorted, looking insulted. "You've been doing this for what, two years? We've been practicing ninjutsu our entire lives, and you're already this good! Any other day I'd have to put up a fight. You can kick anyone's ass when you put your mind to it, I know from experience! You gotta give yourself a break."

April looked in his earnest eyes, and knew he meant what he said. She lowered her head, but felt a tiny bit better.

"I know, I just… I can't focus at all today. I haven't slept at all, worrying about things and…"

April almost wanted him to ask 'what things', but even when he looked like he would like to, it was already obvious he wasn't going to ask again. Not after what a jerk she'd been last time he tried, only about ten minutes ago.

Maybe it was for the better that he didn't. She wouldn't have known what to tell him anyway.

"Look, why don't we try something else? We can simplify," he said and lifted himself up to his full height. She did the same and listened to what he had to say in his friendly teaching voice. "By working on just one aspect of a given activity at a time we'll be able to pinpoint what you're doing wrong. We isolate and favor the learning curve of that one aspect, maximizing focus. For example, leave all the attacking to me and you can concentrate on your blocking techniques." Donatello was already back in position, but keeping close at arm's reach.

"Fine," she agreed, gathering all her remaining strength to at least get this one simple thing right before the day's training ended, so that she could at least say it wasn't a complete waste of time.

"I've noticed a tendency to slacken your stance. Remember to keep your arms up here." Donnie took her forearms in his big fingers and moved them to their correct height guarding her face and chest, giving a gentle squeeze to make her hold the position.

Of course, she knew all this. The theory, at least. But Donnie was right, she always did that without realizing it. Splinter had called her out on it countless times. Usually she tried to be careful, but today she had completely neglected everything she'd learned in the past couple of years. So, biting back the urge to yell "I know!", she gave a loud sigh and nodded in confirmation.

"Elbows close to your body, mobile but firm, and remember to breathe correctly," Donnie continued, and to prove his point, he simulated a slo-mo punch at her face where his fist encountered the barrier of her forearms, then at her side, and she instinctively flinched moving her elbow to protect her ribs whilst tensing her abdominal muscles, air rushing out in a tight hiss. Her instructor gave her a smile of approval.

As if that was the first time she'd done that right...

She really was trying not to take this the wrong way. She kept telling herself this was only feedback; useful stuff. But her ego was particularly touchy today and any form of correction just felt like an insult. She already knew all this!

 _Okay, then why aren't you doing any of it?_

"Always look me in the eyes," Donnie said as sole warning before throwing a hook at her cheek. She barely reacted in time, but blocked it at the last moment and his fist receded. She kept her eyes on his as he instructed, but watched for any movement in the periphery.

She saw his shoulder move one millisecond before his elbow and fist followed like a whip and this time she was ready. Her hand deflected the strike.

But Donnie didn't stop there. Another strike almost caught her by surprise. And then a third.

"Don't nail yourself to the spot. Use the space. Never stay still."

The attacks got faster, rougher.

She was finding it more and more difficult to keep up and started retreating towards the wall. It didn't take long for a blow to get through, and she doubled over at the impact, almost getting an elbow in her nose as a result. She managed to deflect it sloppily with a swat of her hand, but already her forearms hurt, and she felt stitches in her sides.

"You're doing good, April!" Donnie said, giving her a moment's rest to gather herself before starting again and she took the opportunity to give him a disbelieving roll of her eyes. "Keep moving, but don't turn your back on me..."

He made to strike with another deliberate hook to her ribs. April should've known it was a trap.

She moved to block the second fist, swiveling her torso in a movement that turned out too wide. She left her other elbow out in the open and he gripped it, twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out, unconsciously flailing her free arm, allowing Donatello to grab it as well.

"...or else this happens."

April started, surprised by Donatello's voice so close to her ear. He was holding her up against him. She could feel the buckle of his shoulder strap digging into her scapula, and his agitated breaths on her temple.

"Elbows in," he reiterated, letting go of her arms and standing back.

And April hesitated to face him.

The feel of his plastron pressed up against her lingered on her back and neck, and she could only hope it wouldn't be written all over her face, or that at the very least the sweat would mask the burning flush on her cheeks. She rolled away the soreness of her shoulders and finally turned around, panting and aching all over.

And as it couldn't be otherwise, her eyes chose that exact moment to fixate on the elegant curve of his neck, muscles visibly taut under the mottled green skin.

 _It's a pity he slouches so much._

She forced herself to look away, and ended up just staring at his arms as if she was seeing them for the first time; slender and sinewy, glistening with a thin layer of sweat...

 _Whoa._

 _Easy there, April. Now is not the time._

"Alright?" Donnie said cautiously in the elongated silence, the shouting from the other matches sounding far away.

 _The hell's come over you? You've done this dozens of times with him. Get your head in the game, now!_

"Yeah." She immediately regained her stance, shoving aside the pesky thoughts and sensations and forcing herself to hold his gaze.

"Go again?" he proposed.

"Sure."

She meant to sound determined and eager, but she was tired and her forearms were throbbing painfully from all the blocking. Donatello still kept true to his word. He was relentless in his attacks and already she was starting to lose her concentration, and her patience. More so when the next impact sent a jolt of pain all the way up her arm, that latched onto the ball of her shoulder. And once again she neglected her stance.

"Elbows!" Donnie corrected before going straight for the weak spot.

"I know!" she exhaled, barely blocking another attack aimed at her exposed ribcage.

He swung a fist at her left side next, and once again April didn't recognize the distraction. Fingertips dug into her opposite side between ribs, making her recoil with a loud yelp. It had tickled more than hurt, but that didn't make it any less humiliating.

She lifted her eyes to find a fiendish smile on the turtle's face. He must've found that very amusing.

"Sure you do," he chuckled evilly and she felt her shoulders tense and her hands fist.

He kept saying "Elbows in!" and she kept forgetting because she didn't have the energy to care anymore. His pointers hit her like tennis balls to the head, concentration slipping, and still a small part of her was too proud to call time-out. April could feel the pressure inside her rising, rising, her whole body trembling from exertion and rage, tension building with every bullseye of Donnie's fingertips on her side that she failed to block again and again.

Instead of focusing, her mind chose to ask her stupid questions.

 _Shouldn't it be quitting time already?_

She was about to give up and call him off.

"Don't make me tickle you again!"

One last surge of adrenaline took hold of her at the prospect, fueled by all the pent up frustration. And that's when it happened.

Just as Donatello moved to fling out his hand at her abdomen, her fist jerked and shot upwards to strike at whatever it would hit.

It connected with a fwap.

Just one hit. And immediately she froze, knowing that same instant exactly where she'd hit him.

She gasped, eyes shot open to look at Donnie, and her hands covered her mouth at the sight of him kneeling on the carpet, clutching his throat with both hands, struggling to breathe.

"Donnie?!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger!**

 **If you liked it, please leave a comment. It really goes a long way! :D**

 **This chapter took forever to get right omg. It wasn't just the first fight scene we had actually written, but it also had a ton of POVs and after one of our beta readers pointed the head-hopping out to us, we spent some time trying to fix that too. Not sure if you guys noticed anything like that in previous chapters, or if there's still some of that in this one, but we're going to be a lot more careful with POVs in the future.**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**First of all, we want to thank all those who take the time to review. Just the smallest comment makes us so happy. People have no idea how much a review can make an author's day. So thank you, guys! :D Stay awesome!**

 **Sorry about the previous cliffhanger. Here's your reward.**

 **Apriltello fluffness ahead!**

 **And of course, a huge thank you to Queequegg for the extensive beta reading. You rock, gurl!**

* * *

Half-way across the dojo, Splinter's ears twitched and his head spun at the sounds of distress coming from the far end of the room.

"Yame!" he shouted to the whole of the dojo as he sprang towards Donatello, the others' shouts already abating.

"Master Splinter!" April called, her voice wavering. She was all over Donatello, hands fumbling about in a panicked daze. Splinter was already aware of the situation before she even had time to explain.

"I hit him in the throat, he can't breathe! It was an accident!"

Splinter gently urged her aside as he took her place kneeling in front of his son. Donatello's eyes were as saucers, shooting Splinter a brief glance, a silent cry for help. A strangled sound forced its way out of his mouth as he struggled to pull in a breath.

"Donatello, look at me," he commanded in the same voice he would use during lessons. He could see Donatello forcing himself to hold his gaze, his features contorted in alarm, his mouth agape like a fish out of water.

"Oh God, I killed him! I killed him!" April cried.

"Who?" came Karai's voice behind them, but nobody paid her any mind. Karai and Raph were still engaged in a picassian knot of strangled limbs. Splinter had forgotten to keep an eye on them.

Unaware that anything had even happened until they heard April scream, they finally disentangled themselves from each other, Raphael shoving the kunoichi aside to hurry over to whatever had happened that had them all grouped around the crouching figures.

Splinter took Donatello's hands, lovingly yet firmly leading them away from his throat to rest at his thighs, then made him sit up straight, studying the situation all the while. It wasn't as bad, he thought, and felt the churning of terror in his own gut recede.

"Relax, my son. It's nothing, you are just a little agitated," he assured. Donatello would trust him enough to know it was true. "Breathe with me."

Splinter guided Donatello through the breathing, setting the pace for him as he strived to keep a rhythm. All the while April watched, heart in her mouth, her own breath knocked out of her, and in her mind she implored Donnie to get through it and just say something. She felt a touch on her back and she turned to see Leonardo.

"He's going to be okay," his eyes promised. It wasn't good enough. She had to see for herself.

It took a couple of minutes, but Donnie's breaths started coming in a little easier each time.

Tension slowly ebbed away from Donnie's face as he eventually started to relax. He swallowed, tears of strain escaping the corners of his eyes. At last he inhaled shakily, pulling in a lungful of air before releasing it forth, his features going lax as he nodded his head in reassurance. There was a general sigh of relief.

"It's good, I'm good," he rasped, making a soothing motion of his hand at his audience, and April bolted forth, crouching before him.

"Oh my God! Donnie, I'm so sorry!"

"That's ok- hem… okay," he croaked and prudently cleared his throat.

Splinter gave him a soft pat on his shoulders and stood.

"Rest," he said, then turned to the nearest turtle. "Bring ice."

Leonardo gave a nod and headed purposefully for the exit.

Still wobbly from the scare, Donnie sat back on his heels, massaging his trachea. April sat close beside him giving his arm a few soft, comforting rubs as the rest gathered around.

"You okay, dude?" Mikey asked, the creases of concern not entirely gone from his brow.

"Yeah. Although I think I might have... swallowed my Adam's apple," Donnie said carefully, his poor larynx still struggling to form words.

"No way you'd pass that big boy, bro. You're safe," Mikey joked, and beamed at the little chuckle of approval from Karai.

April looked up at Donnie, his expression still a little hazy, and saw the two stains of moisture on the violet fabric under his eyes. Her stomach gave a lurch, leaden with guilt.

When Donnie turned he caught her staring, all hint of anger gone from her face and replaced by something that actually hurt more to look at. He could never stand to see that look on her and tried to assuage her worries, and by extension his own.

"You know, if we were characters in a game of Mazes and Mutants, that would've earned you like two level-ups. Critical hit!" he wheezed, and the wince of pain that followed might have taken a little out of the celebratory tone. But it worked. It made her smile...

"I almost killed you," she giggled a little nervously.

"Hey, what can I say. It took my breath away."

"Dude, no." Raphael groaned. Loudly.

But April laughed, finally a little relieved, and whenever that happened, Donnie would instantly stop caring about anything Raph could ever dish out.

Oh, man. He wanted to hold her so badly right now, and let her know that it was all good, and how grateful he was that she cared. He had to remind himself not to stare, when really he could bask in the light of her smile all day.

"Told you not to go easy on me," she said playfully and Raph barked a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe April should be going easy on you, Donnie!" he joked, and the wisecracking that followed was cut off by a blunt "Yame!"

Everybody turned to see a scowl of utmost disapproval on Splinter's face, especially directed at Raph. Their sensei jerked his head sideways, that simple gesture ordering them to sit in line before him, surely to better administer his wrath.

They all started moving to take their places across the rugs, certain that whatever Splinter hadn't liked about that exchange -and why he had singled out Raphael- they would soon know. April kindly eased Donnie up by the arm to make sure he wouldn't lose balance or anything. But even though it was soon obvious he didn't need the help, he didn't turn it down either. Just having April be all over him like this was its own excuse.

Leo walked in through the entrance then with an ice pack that he handed over to Donnie to massage over the sore area, and joined the rest. Then the row of young ninjas waited for the scolding that was to come.

Splinter regarded them all with severe eyes to make sure they were all listening. April's head was low and her brow was furrowed. He would deal with that in a bit.

"Raphael."

Said turtle winced at the sound of his name.

"That," Splinter said, "was _not_ an example. April did not do well today, and I'm fairly certain she did not do that on purpose."

April's head hung lower as confirmation.

"Therefor, it was not something to celebrate. Contrary to what Raphael may think, we never aim to hurt our sparring partner."

"I never said that, sensei! It was only a joke!"

Splinter flicked his head towards him and he froze.

Once Raphael had settled down again, eyes lowered in submission, he continued.

"As I was saying… You hurt the enemy, not your fellow dojo team-mates. In here we must be watchful of our own movement so these things never happen. Training is not just about learning fancy ways to maim your opponent. It's not even about winning. It is an exercise in teamwork and, most importantly, self awareness. Control. It should go without saying, the throat is off limits in a friendly environment. So we do not _joke_ about this. It was a _mistake_ ," Splinter pointedly chewed out the last word, "and it could have been a very grave one."

"I know, sensei," Raph admitted, then in a show of humility added "Sorry, Donnie."

Splinter was satisfied, and he then stepped over to stand before April. His shadow loomed over her small cringing figure.

"April, I expect what happened taught you a valuable lesson. If I had known you were harboring such anger I would not have let you spar. I hope next time you are feeling this way you will trust us enough to let us know before, instead of projecting your feelings in such hurtful manner."

"I-I wasn't that angry, it just... slipped! I wasn't thinking and..."

But one look from Splinter was enough to silence her protests. And just like Raphael, she bowed her head submissively, because when Splinter looked at them like this, there was nothing else to do.

She was absolutely mortified. Her personal life was seeping through the cracks of her facade and everyone was ogling at the puddle.

Beside her, she saw Donatello risking a glance at her. She didn't meet his eyes. She knew Splinter didn't appreciate being ignored when he was in the middle of a lesson.

"You've all heard me say this before: the dojo is our sanctuary, where we devote ourselves to our art. When you come in here, you leave your troubles at the door, you do not drag their weight in with you. Emotions are inflammable. Like fuel, they can be a powerful driving force. But there must be someone at the wheel, or we become dangerous to ourselves and those around us."

Splinter let his young pupils mull over that for a few seconds, and ultimately locked gazes with April.

"Self awareness," he said finally, tapping his temple with his clawed finger.

"It won't happen again, sensei. I promise."

"Good," Splinter said solemnly, inclining his head. Then his tone changed. "Don't feel bad, April. This isn't the first time this has happened. We have all made mistakes. The important thing is that we rectify… and learn from them."

"Hai, sensei," April muttered, the soothing voice of her mentor washing away some of the superficial guilt clogging up her conscience.

She had a distinct feeling this lesson transcended the dojo walls, but how to implement it out there was a whole different deal.

Splinter lifted his eyes from her and spoke up.

"You know my door is always open, for anything you need to talk about. Any one of you."

"Hai, sensei." This time the words were chanted by everyone present.

"You may go."

There was a murmur of feet as everybody stood and started making their way towards the exit. Mikey immediately started coaxing them towards the kitchen, talking about what he was going to have for lunch.

April's first instinct was to get out of there as soon as possible, but one look from Donnie had her pinned to the spot. He didn't say anything. All he did was pause his steps to offer her a casual smile over his shoulder, as though checking to see if she was following. And so she did, partly thankful that his approach still seemed to be based on avoiding questions, like she'd requested earlier.

Which was more than she could say for some...

"Boy, did you get up on the wrong side today, April," Raph jested as he passed her, and she barely stopped herself from falling flat on her face as a result of the gargantuan pat on her back. After all this time being the victim of Raph's lack of clemency, she had thankfully learned to see these things coming.

"Don't tease her, it's just that time of the month. I can relate," Karai said, catching up to them, and nobody bought the empathetic tone for a moment.

"It's not that!" April grunted half-heartedly before Michelangelo joined in the conversation.

"I can make you chocolate pizza, cuz I know from experience that chocolate helps in these cases…"

April had to wonder what kind of experience a male _turtle_ could have on that matter, but then she remembered she was talking to Mikey. And above all, he had just offered chocolate and pizza. So screw pride.

"Okay," she said. "Hey, but no weird extra toppings."

Mikey gave her a concerned once over.

"Man, it really is serious… I'm gonna have to work double-time!" he said right before he burst into a sprint and almost ran over Raphael as they both passed the kitchen curtains, followed shortly by April and Karai.

"So, Don… you think that's all it is? That she's… you know?" Leo asked Donnie covertly before reaching the drapes, pointing a thumb inside, and Donnie gave him a look.

Of course he knew, if only for all the time he and April spent together. Obviously it helped that he had a better calendar inside his mind than any smartphone. And as much as he tried to appear as though he was weirded out by the question, he couldn't fool Leo.

Donnie pressed his lips in surrender, a little smile forming as he admitted to it, and he shook his head.

"Not yet."

Leo nodded, visibly satisfied.

"So how're _you_ feeling?" he asked, one hand on his carapace as they passed the drapes to the kitchen to join the rest.

"Good!" He cleared his throat, but it did nothing to placate the gruffness in his voice. He took off the ice pack to rub off the cold with his other hand and he saw April shooting him a worried glance from across the table. She was quick to take her eyes away, though, as she was presently in a heated discussion with Mikey on the pros and cons of chocolate- _jalapeño_ pizza.

"I'll just have to take a few meds for good measure," Donnie went on. "Probably purée my pizza for the next couple days. But then I'll be good as new."

"Wait. I know just the thing," Karai said out of nowhere, and opened one of the cabinets to retrieve a pot, filling it with water and leaving it to heat on the stove.

"Ah, yes! Vapors!" Donnie said approvingly in his grave new voice, and respectfully turned down the first bowl of cheese nachos, his sore throat crying out at the very thought of solid food.

While the nacho bowl was being passed around, Splinter announced that he'd be taking a walk out on the tunnel and made to grab a cheese-sicle from the freezer. He stopped to pat Ice Cream Kitty on the head, who purred, before closing it and heading out, the stick of the cheese-sicle held gracefully between his fingertips.

A couple more bowls filled with a variety of snacks went around as the group immersed itself in the usual small talk. Mikey was warming them up to a new movie he had found on VHS. It was about ninjas, apparently, and it promised to be as cheesy and over-the-top as the cover art made it out to be **.** Eventually Karai got up to retrieve the boiling water from the stove, setting it down on the table near Donnie and adding a bunch of eucalyptus leaves.

"Come 'ere," she commanded, and shoved Donnie's shoulders down, forcing him onto a stool so his face was enveloped with the soothing scent of the steam.

"Uh, tha-" he started to say before his head was covered in its entirety by some kind of rag. "Thanks," he tried again from under the medium-sized towel, fingers nervously drumming on the wooden surface of the table at the snickers coming in all directions.

"As much as I am looking forward to laughing at Donnie right now, I'm gonna take a leak before Karai thinks of fixing her makeup."

"Thank you for the insight, Raph," Donnie said, lifting the towel over his face to shoot Raph a sarcastic glance for good measure as he stepped through the kitchen curtains.

"Oh my gosh, Donnie!" Mikey said, and Donatello turned to see his little brother pointing a dramatic finger at him as if he'd suddenly sprouted turtle zits. "I figured out who you sound like! You totally sound like Leo!"

The group burst into loud laughter at the realization, and that included Donatello. His voice sounded absolutely rugged.

"I'm the hero New York deserves," Donnie said in a brooding fashion, towel still draped over his head like a baroque wig, and everyone laughed even harder.

"Shouldn't you be resting your voice instead of goofing around with it?" Leo scolded.

"Worried, Leo? Because it looks to me like you got some competition," Karai said with a smack to Leo's shell, knocking his eye-roll right off.

"Hey, if this is all it took I would've done it sooner!" Donnie nudged a shoulder at April and she giggled mischievously.

"Don't let Master Splinter hear you say that…" she breathed. Her smile made him smile, and with that he proclaimed Project Cheer-up a success.

"But you won't get to keep your new Batman voice, right?" Karai joked.

"No, unfortunately I'll be sounding like regular me in a few days," Donnie said in mock-wistful tones.

"Well I, for one, am glad for that," April said, and she gently eased Donnie's head down over the steaming bowl, draping the towel back over his face, then gave the top of the white mound a soft pat as a reward for his compliance.

Donnie exhaled a sigh and breathed in the palliative fumes, letting them do their thing as he tried to follow the new trail of conversation, which soon had split up into two or three nuclei as he just sat there probably looking like a cheap halloween costume.

He could hear April and Karai chatting it up near the sink behind him, and they were talking about the new armor. April sounded very intrigued, which revived the butterflies in Donnie's stomach. And because his face was covered by a towel, he didn't have to worry about his stupid smile being seen. So he allowed it to stretch to its full width as goosebumps started crawling their way up his arms at the thought of April wearing the armor that he had made for her. He'd already taken a few notes from the fashion show to add to his design. Would the rivets be a bit tacky for her?

Finally the snack bowls became empty -which didn't take long with Mikey around- and soon there were sounds of sliding stools and discarded kitchenware as they each started heading out to go about their respective business. Donnie folded back the front of the towel over his head and held the pot up under his chin, a cloth protecting his hands from the hot metal. Eyes intent on April, as if he feared he could lose sight of her, he followed everybody out.

He'd been dying to tell her about his chat with future Donatello the previous afternoon, waiting for the perfect chance, but such a moment hadn't presented itself yet, between homework, and her dad, and training... They hadn't had that much time to just hang out at all lately for the same reasons **.**

And with that last midnight hug from two days ago still fresh on his mind, he'd been striving to find an answer to his questions all day in the way she looked at him, the way she talked to him. He could almost swear there was something different. But how could he know it wasn't simply what he wanted to see?

He caught up to her but when he opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was a faint warble. He cleared his throat, stifling a wince, and saw she was already paying close attention, waiting for him to speak with a smile of amusement. Man, he was going to miss the extra attention once this went away.

"I was gonna ask…" He paused and cleared his throat again. Every syllable sent a pang through his aching vocal chords. "You gonna stay for lunch? I think Casey's coming over, we could have that study session we talked about."

He saw her bite the inside of her cheek.

"I can't. Dad's back from the trip with his therapy group and we're gonna have lunch together."

Donnie did his best not to let his disappointment show.

"Oh, right! How did that go?" he asked.

April had told him about the psychotherapy group Mr.O'neil had been collaborating with, the very same that had helped him a couple of months ago. The group was one of many that City Hall had been promoting for a while, aimed at the hundreds of New Yorkers that were still dealing with the aftermath of the last alien invasion. Kirby had gotten better and decided to help others in the same situation as he, as a way of giving something back. Judging by what little April had told them, Kirby was far from fully recovered, but he was active, getting his life back, and being an aid to others was helping him as well.

It was important to April. So Donnie was not exactly faking interest.

But April was looking at her T-Phone's clock now, suddenly in a hurry, and once more Donnie saw his odds of spending time with April that day vanish before his eyes.

"I'll ask him. I-I really gotta run."

She paused, and reached out to touch Donnie's hand, carefully as he was still holding the pot. "Sorry I almost killed you, Don."

Donnie gave a wheezy chuckle, shrugging that away, and her honest smile warmed him to the core.

"Take care, okay? I'll call you later to see how you are."

"Okay," Donnie said, while in his head he was hopping around in joy just for the prospect of getting a phonecall from April. "Say hi to your dad."

She promised to do just that, picked up her backpack and was off. Donnie watched her go, jumping over the turnstiles to disappear down the tunnel.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is teasing Leorai all around!**

 **Have fun... *eyebrow wiggle***

 **Remember! Reviews are writer chow! :D We always try to reply whenever possible.**

 **And as always, a huge thank you to Queequegg and Theherocomplex for their amazing beta reading!**

* * *

Leo watched Donnie's and April's exchange from the foot of the dojo steps near the kitchen, trying to draw some sort of conclusion.

After what he'd seen and heard earlier in the dojo between his brother and Karai -and then later in the kitchen- Leonardo couldn't help being paranoid. Watching Karai's behavior for the last fifteen minutes hadn't helped, as expected, so now he was trying to look for any kind of confirmation that at least Donatello was still head over heels for April.

 _Not_ Karai.

"Hey, Leo. You up for a quickie?"

Speak of the devil. Leonardo swivelled around at the sound of Karai's voice to find her looking down on him from the top of the steps, a smug grin on her face, like being higher than him made her better than him.

"Uh… a-a quickie?"

"I'd like to put this armor through the mighty test of your sword."

Leo frowned at the choice of words, her shameless tone of voice. He stood there, frozen in place, until Karai took her hand from her back and he saw her holding his niten ryu.

"Yeah, you know. I realized we didn't get to go one on one today. And that just won't do," she said, a wicked grin splitting her face. "Think of it as extra credit."

Leonardo finally managed to jump-start his mind:

"Oh, you're talking about a fight- a spar, sparring match," he said, flustered, stumbling over his words.

"What else would I be talking about?" she said, shrugging one shoulder, and she tossed him his swords. Then, slowly and deliberately, she turned her back to him, throwing a cheeky glance behind her.

Leo sighed in resignation, cursing the heat on his neck and cheeks and the wriggly sensation in his center. He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself before following her back inside the dojo. He knew he would never be able to reject the invitation, no matter how much he dreaded it. Not when she was looking at him like that, and those metal rivets in her new armor glinted so alluringly in the backlight.

 _I am going to regret this…_ Leo thought, and sighed.

"Alright, Karai. But you should know, I can see all your little tricks coming a mile away," Leo said, playing it cool, but feeling the exact opposite. His hands were slick with sweat, and he tightened the grip on his swords.

"Forgive me for doubting that, Mochi-chan."

Leonardo blinked in bewilderment. He couldn't have heard that right...

"Mochi-"

"That's right. I found you a nickname," Karai said blithely while adjusting the straps on her new cuffs. "You like it?"

"Mochi? Really? How am I like a mochi?" Leo protested, already prey to the effects of her teasing. It hadn't even been a whole minute.

 _Good thing you could see her tricks coming, Leo… Please, just get a grip before it's too late._

"Because you're like those green tea mochis; sweet and squishy. The perfect post-workout snack." She smirked.

"Damnit, Karai..." And that was it. He had nothing. They had just gotten started and already he literally had nothing but the slight tremor in his lower lip that he desperately tried to hide by biting down on it. All he could do now was to wield his swords at her in a threatening manner.

"Aww, how sweet, you still blush and everything. You sweet, sweet mochi," she cooed, circling him in a casual saunter, hand ready at her hilt.

The turtle swallowed, forcing himself not to fixate on the graceful shimmy of her hips, wrapped in that tight sash that left little to the imagination.

 _Okay, too late. Now I'm gone._

"Oh, I could really go for a mochi right now," she kept going, relentless. He knew she was only trying to distract him. Problem was, it was working...

"A nice, green tea mochi, mmm. I would eat it up in little nibbles so it would last me for hours."

Karai lunged forward and Leonardo barely reacted in time. Her wakizashi drew a wide arc in the air, the turtle avoiding the blade by the width of a hair, hearing the whistle of the metal by his ear. He swung his sword, knocking away her weapon.

"Good reflexes, Mochi-chan, I thought I had you!"

The sound of his new nickname grated at his eardrums like the scratching of a blade on stone. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away. It was his only chance.

He steadied himself, and curled his mouth into a haughty snarl.

"My ninjutsu training has reached levels you can't imagine, Karai," he said, almost recovered from the embarrassment, his feigned smugness an attempt at playing along.

"Hmmm, I like the sound of that! I'd love to see exactly how far your skills reach, Mochi-chan," Karai said before performing a graceful feint. She dodged his return strike with ease, and one bump of her hip on his plastron knocked him off balance. "I'm sure you excel in many areas."

"Can we just fight and cut the crap, please?" Leonardo cawed heatedly, hacking the air with his blades in a burst of impatience.

"Bo-ring!" Karai sang. "Being a ninja is more than knowing your katas by heart, Leo-chan. You have to learn to repel any attack from the enemy, of any kind." She winked.

"In that case, thanks for the lessons, Karai. But then why do you only teach them to me, huh?" His heart skipped a beat at his own insinuation, but in all honesty he couldn't wait to see all cards on the table once and for all.

"How do you know I only use it on you, Leo?"

Leonardo scoffed, but paused in thought.

"So... you do all these... " He grasped for the right word, discarding every single one that came to mind, until he found one that was innocuous enough. He gestured with the tip of his sword towards Karai. "These _techniques_. You use them with the others?" He realized this wasn't the time nor the place, but somehow was unable to repress the urge to ask.

And now he hated himself for sounding jealous. _Crap!_ That was it. From now on he was going to focus on combat, and only on combat. No more being a victim to her games.

"Nah, I save this technique just for you, Mochi-chan. Because you're worth it." She swung her sword low at Leo's knees, making him jump in order to avoid the blade. He countered with a swipe at the girl's head, but she dodged it with grace as though it were but a pesky draft before striking a dramatic thinking pose.

"Although now that I think about it, I _am_ being a little unfair."

"What do you mean?" he said in an irked monotone.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't save this kind of training only for you. The others could surely benefit from a kunoichi's techniques, as you so elegantly put it."

Leonardo only narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Oh yes, Donnie would be the perfect candidate," Karai said, tilting her head as though deep in thought, and Leonardo couldn't help imagining her and Donatello enjoying a solo sparring session. Her smile of delight completely knocked Leonardo off balance. He gaped, images from the last couple of weeks of the two of them together coming back to him in a whirl. Was it possible after all?

It came as no real surprise when she suddenly wheeled, disarming him of one of his niten ryu and keeping it for herself before retreating all in one fluid move.

Now there she was, gloating from afar. And there _he_ was, one sword short and that dumb look on his face.

"That's funny, look what just fell into my hand! Aw, but its colors don't even match mine! Oh well…" Karai discarded the newly acquired sword, tossing it aside like a used plastic plate. Leo winced, but he'd been expecting it - she had much better weapons at her disposal after all.

But Leo couldn't help the question that gushed out of him - he couldn't have contained it anymore than he could contain water in a broken strainer.

"What did you mean about you and Donnie…?"

Karai laughed, an open, clamorous guffaw.

"Oh, Leo, don't be silly! I said that to get to your sword," Karai crooned playfully. "It worked, too. You know, sometimes I come up with new ways to screw with you and initially I think 'naw, he won't fall for that'. But then you always surprise me."

Leonardo took a step back, the burning sting of indignation rising in his throat. He had faced the taunts and insults of his brothers and his enemies alike, time and again, but only Karai could make him feel like a complete imbecile.

"You know, Karai, eventually you _will_ succeed, and one day I _will_ turn down sparring with you forever," he said sharply. "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Oh, come on, don't be such a drama queen."

"Maybe to you these are nothing more than kunoichi games to kill the time…"

"Whoa, Leo…" she chuckled, her laughter not quite as cheerful as before - maybe in response to the tightness in his own voice.

"...but the joke's getting a little old for the rest of us."

"Don't you think you're blowing this out of-"

"All I ask is that you stop playing and be _honest_ , for once in your life." Leonardo started moving, ready to take off. "But I guess you don't even know the meaning of the word-"

"Alright!" Karai said loudly, cutting him off. Leonardo was immediately quiet, and the silence thickened between them as he waited for her to speak.

For a few moments, Karai only stared, a look of deep confusion on her face as Leonardo firmly held her gaze, his jaw clenched.

She blinked and let her eyes fall to the floor before exhaling a hefty sigh, her entire body sinking until suddenly she looked much smaller.

When she lifted her head again, her eyes were looking at him through her eyelashes. Her wakizashi was now held low, tip pointed at the rug, and still she stared, her stance relaxed but determined. The seconds stretched until Leonardo began to feel just a tad uncomfortable. But he would not yield. Not this time.

Karai's head tilted to the side as though deep in thought, and Leo let out a huff of annoyance. _There she goes again_ , thought Leo. _Why did I think she could ever do what I ask of her?_

Hardly in the mood for more nonsense, Leonardo braced himself in a ready stance and taunted her, sword wobbling its tip at her, inviting her to make a move, eager to get it all over with.

But she in no way acknowledged his call to arms.

"Leo."

He froze at the suddenness of it.

The way she had said his name. Her voice was leaden with purpose, her eyes fixed deliberately on his. Piercing. She looked dead serious.

"What?" he said slowly, half the word evaporating in front of his mouth like wisps of breath in the cold at the sight of her expression. Her lips were parted, like she wanted to say something but didn't quite find the right words.

She closed her mouth and lifted her head, and Leo was met with a determined gaze that could stop a train. Not taking her eyes off him, she carefully guided her weapon to its sheath at the back of her sash. The blade slid out of sight and her hand fell to her side, dangling over her hip. And then she started moving towards him.

Leonardo was knocked off his senses. Because _this… this_ was new.

She took short step after short step, a stalking panther. She was taking her sweet time, looking at him. Staring him down. His grip faltered, and he watched as the tip of his own sword lowered almost of its own accord.

So this was it? It was happening? How would they tell the others? What would Master Splinter say?!

Leonardo's heart pounded against his plastron, breath hitching in his throat, as he watched Karai worm her way up to him. His eyes took the liberty of briefly touring along the sinuous curves of her hips and he swallowed. That armor really did look spectacular on her, and boy did she know it.

 _It's a trick!_ a tiny, minuscule voice told him, from the deepest recesses of his rational mind.

But how was he supposed to listen to sense when Karai was so close that he could even _smell_ her; new leather and a natural musk permeated his sinuses, alluringly spicy. It was amazing. He appreciated a woman who didn't mind getting all nasty from a good workout.

"You really wanna know why I only use these techniques on you, Leonardo?" Karai said, just as she was slithering past his languid sword, her voice down an entire octave.

Leonardo did not move a hair's width, fixed like a marble statue as the woman inched her way closer.

He was in such state of shock that he barely perceived how Karai had just whipped out her sword, disarmed him of his remaining niten ryu with a firm swing and sent the weapon flying and jabbing itself on the floor a couple of yards behind him.

He reeled, looking at his sword planted on the other side of the room, then back at Karai. It took him a moment to understand.

"Ta-dah! Cause it always works! I win again!" she exclaimed with triumphant laughter. "I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist!"

Leonardo's entire body tensed. She was so pleased with herself, so perfectly oblivious to the battle waging inside Leo's head, the angry churning of his stomach.

"Now pick up your weapons like a good boy. Lesson's over and I need a shower."

He knew it, _he knew it_ and was still stupid enough to fall into her trap _again_. The clamor of fierce thoughts reverberated inside his head. What really angered him was that for a few moments he had believed her. He got his hopes up. He let his guard down.

"Leo?"

Karai had been on her way out, but stopped when she didn't see Leo moving. He was just standing there, and she couldn't be sure if his eyes were closed or just fixed on the rug beneath his feet. His hands, deprived of their weapons, were curled into tight fists and the green knuckles were turning pale. She turned towards him, and flashed a provocative smile.

"You're not mad at me cause I beat you, are you?"

But the incensed look on his eyes when he looked at her gave her pause. His voice was steady and cold when he replied.

"Of course not. I'm very happy your little trick worked out for you."

"Aw, come on. You know I'm just teasing," she joked, but the situation wasn't nearly as funny anymore. Perhaps she had gone a bit too far this time...

"I don't know, Karai. I'm sick of being your toy," Leo said, turning his back on Karai.

"Oh, Leo, don't be like that!" Karai said, getting close to him, reaching to touch him on the shoulder, but he shrugged her hand away.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Karai was startled by that question. How serious he sounded, and how stern. So tense she could see the muscles in his neck twitching.

"You think you can just play this out forever and it's always going to work for you. But guess what: I'm done. I'm not taking another minute of it."

"Leo!"

He didn't respond. He didn't even flinch this time as he set out to pick up his swords from the floor to put them away on the rack, his movements as measured and concise as they'd ever been. The weapons settled on their stand with a couple of soft clinks and he headed for the exit without another look. Karai panicked.

She had to fix this, and fast. It couldn't just end like this.

"Will you listen to me?" she cried, striding after him and yanking on his arm to make him face her. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm a kunoichi. This is what I do. I didn't know this was so hard on you!"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"That's right, I didn't!

"I doubt that very much, Karai. I know your kunoichi training makes you very perceptive," he said bitterly.

"I think you are confusing being _perceptive_ with being a _telepath_."

"I'm not confusing anything. I'm obviously crystal clear to you. You said it yourself, that's why you'll always use those tricks on me for as long as they work. And meanwhile I feel like I barely really know you. Everything's always uncertain with you, Karai!" He closed his eyes, like it hurt. "Sometimes I get the feeling that nothing about you is true. That it's all an illusion, just like everything you do in here." He motioned at the carpeted floor of the dojo beneath their feet.

"Leo…!" she exclaimed, incredulous. "That's not true! How can you say that?"

She didn't want to believe that's what he thought about her. Did they all think that?

"Why should I believe you? This is what you've always been." Leonardo turned and paced, his back to her. "A game of cat and mouse. Lies and _traps_."

She took a step forward, in case he thought of getting away again before she could make it right.

"I told you! This is what I am, this is what I've been taught! That doesn't mean…!"

Her words trailed off into silence, and everything became still. Leonardo stood quietly, probably waiting for her to finish. But after a few quiet moments, he shook his head, and then he took off.

"It doesn't make it a lie!" she called after him, wincing. Terrified.

But at least Leo had stopped moving, the tails of his blue bandana coming to a full stop against the groves of his shell. He was listening.

Karai stepped closer.

"I admit I often play, and tease. And maybe I enjoy it a little too much, but… I didn't think it was like this. I thought we were having fun," Karai explained, trying to keep her voice level. She didn't want to give too much away. She couldn't handle that right now. But Leo wanted sincerity, or it was game over. She braced herself, and drew in a shaky breath. "See… it's not all illusion."

The silence that followed was only broken by the occasional burble of sewer pipes and the distant noises of the busy world above, and Karai wondered how in the world silence could feel so loud, her ears buzzing with the sound of her own blood flow and her pulse thumping on her temples.

When Leo finally turned, slowly, she was met with a pair of blue eyes glinting with impish delight and a malicious grin creeping onto his lips.

Karai gawked, unable to keep a straight face.

"Well, well," he said. "A little peek at your true self." His voice was still austere, but laced with a smugness that caught her completely off guard.

He took two steps and before she could react, he had grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her closer until their faces were mere inches apart. She could've twisted his arm and put him in a lock at any time. But she didn't. And his grin spread wider. It had been almost two years since they first met and she had been taller than him back then. But not anymore. Leo's eyes were level with hers, his penetrating gaze catching hers head on.

He leaned in, his tone of voice lowering until it was almost a lion's growl.

"I'd say that deserves a reward," he said with the slightest wiggle of his brow, and Karai felt her entire body stiffen.

What the hell was going on, and why weren't her limbs responding? Karai thought as Leonardo's face kept getting closer and closer to hers. Meanwhile she was fighting her own body, trying to keep her arms limp at her sides, to maintain a straight face as if nothing could ever rattle her. It was a struggle like none she'd ever known.

Leo tightened his grip on her arm then, his eyes so intent on hers that she felt she would be adrift forever in their ocean blue.

And there they stood, motionless, suspended in time, breathing each other's breaths. Karai made a tiny strangled sound in her throat, and she had enough sense left in her that she feared Leo might have been close enough to hear it.

But Leonardo did not waver. He did not back away. And if she hadn't been so transfixed and so boggled she might have been able to see it coming. Because just when she thought she would have to give in—when their bellies were practically touching, and they were but a little tip of the chin away—she felt it.

His hand had moved slowly, sneaking up around her and then with a single, blunt, yank of the handle, Karai's wakizashi went flying through the air.

Karai watched in confusion as her weapon landed with a clang and rolled loudly on the floor until it came to a full stop against the painted paper screens at the far end of the dojo.

"And _that_ ," Leonardo said, "was _kyojitsu tenkan-ho_." Then he released her to cross his arms over his chest, and took a step back to admire his work, sneering ruthlessly at her face of shock and confusion.

Karai was still looking back and forth from him to her wakizashi lying at the other side of the room, and back to him.

"Wait wh- How…?" The sounds rolling out of her mouth were hardly words at all, as she visibly struggled to compose herself, and Leo relished every stutter and every jerk of her head. "You tricked me!"

He lifted his chin, malicious pride coursing through his veins, because that mask of strength and temperance she was trying to put on wouldn't work this time, he had felt her arm tense under his grip. And that's how he knew it was all for show. He got to her. There was something very fulfilling about that.

"I can't believe you'd do that!" She looked and sounded bothered for a moment, but then she recovered and her expression changed. Whether it was spontaneous or she was simply putting on her kunoichi face again, Leo couldn't tell. But she looked at him with what seemed to be a smile of content.

"My congratulations, Leo-chan!" she said. "You had me there for a second!" She sniggered that last sentence with an ambiguous laugh that he couldn't interpret.

Although he didn't exactly regret his little trick, deep inside he was also disappointed. And not just in her.

He couldn't say what would have happened if he had taken it one step further; maybe she would have shoved him away, or perhaps she would have sunk into the kiss. This could have been the start of something, or the end of everything. But it didn't matter now, because the moment was gone, thrown across the room along with her sword. If only he would have put aside his plan for revenge, then whatever would have happened he could have at least known.

But now he was as clueless as in the beginning.

Or was he?

 _It's not all illusion…_

"It seems you're learning at last!"

Leonardo rose from the tangle of his thoughts and came back to present reality, seeing her smile and borrowing the gesture to use it himself.

"Well, I've had a terrific role model."

She laughed.

"I'm proud of you, my little grasshopper."

"Arigato," he said, bowing, and she returned the gesture with an air of ceremony, then came up to rest her hand on his shoulder.

"I think you've earned the honor of wearing the kunoichi eyeliner," she said like it was nothing but the highest honor she could bestow. He released a throaty chortle.

"I hate to reject your gift, Karai. But I doubt I have the features for it," Leo said, motioning at his green face.

"I wouldn't be so sure," she said, now ogling him with studious eyes, a shit-stirring smile on her face. Leo suppressed the urge to gulp, a renewed feeling of dread wiggling in the pit of his stomach for whatever she had in store for him.

She only gave a merry chuckle, like a jingle.

"Anyways, loser cleans the dojo, so take a broom and put those guns of yours to work."

He reeled, Karai's order arose the proud leader that lived within him, making him forget his composure once more.

"Excuse me?" he said, indignant. "First of all, we never agreed on that, and second of all, _I won_."

"No, no, Leo. You may have disarmed me last, but I disarmed you _twice_."

Leonardo smirked with a new found confidence.

"So did I."

Karai's own specialty had been wielded against her, and as soon as the line sunk in, her sardonic grin froze on her face for a split-second. But of course, because this was Karai and she always had the last word, she recovered in record time.

"It seems we're in a bit of a stalemate," she said, arms crossed. Leo mimicked her pose, and pressed his lips for full effect. An unbreachable wall of sheer determination.

"How about a tie breaker?"

Leonardo squinted, but agreed. They faced each other once again and held their right fists up between them.

"Evens," Leonardo said, and Karai nodded her head solemnly. The intensity in their glares could've set the air on fire as their fists shook three times, and then a total of five fingers sprung forth. Karai whooped, victorious once more.

"How do I always lose to this?" Leonardo complained. "It's… it's supposed to be a game of chance! I'm pretty sure you're cheating. Somehow."

"It's all in the wrist," she sniggered, and ambled her way to where her wakizashi lay by the paper screens.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Stop trying to pass the buck and get to it."

"I'm not-!" Leonardo stopped himself from whining. He sighed, collecting himself. "Fine, I'll do it. You know why? Because unlike you, Karai, I am honorable in my defeat."

A taunting snort was her response.

"Great," she said, tossing him her wakizashi before heading for the exit with an air of conquest. "Then sweep those rugs with honor, Mochi-chan."

An irked groan forced its way from deep within his chest.

 _I guess the nickname's sticking,_ he thought cynically as he stepped over to the weapons wall to hang Karai's wakizashi, then to the corner to grab the broom.

"Oh, I almost forgot…"

Leonardo turned at the voice, broomstick in hand, and spotted the kunoichi peeking her head back around the archway with what appeared to be an afterthought. She was holding up a finger as if to say something important, but Leonardo knew better. He waited, one brow raised, for her to make up her mind.

As he had expected, her grin stretched slowly into a sneer.

"Mahp-mahp," she said finally and Leo slumped.

"Wha-! ...you are never going to let me live that down, are you?" he said, cursing the day she had to hear about that from his brothers.

"Never…"

Karai wiggled her fingers much like a vaudevillian vampire as she very slowly backed out of sight, and he couldn't help but grin to himself as he got to work sweeping the dojo.


	9. Chapter 9

**We finally get an emotional close view of April's mind in this one, and you Apriltello lovers are going to like it...**

 **Also Casey and Raph shenanigans.**

 **A humongous thank you to our beta readers, theHeroComplex and Queequegg!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, Raph! Good fight today."

"Shut up," Raph muttered half-heartedly, not even looking up from his magazine. Karai chuckled and marched towards her room just as Casey appeared at the turnstiles. Raph lifted his eyes at the sound, peering over the pages.

"Wow, heavy metal," Casey said, giving Karai a once-over, and Raph rolled his eyes when she acknowledged the compliment with a little curtsy before taking the steps to the bedrooms.

"Yo, Raph!"

"Yo, Case, where ya b- Whoa, what the heck!" Raph exclaimed at the dark purple covering a good portion of his friend's face. "I thought hockey practice was this afternoon!"

"It is! This is from yesterday."

"But wasn't yesterday your date with April?"

"Dude, shhh!" Casey hissed, shooting a few cautious glances around the room. Mikey was sitting against the dojo panes, but he was reading his 'Samurai Jackrabbit' comic book. He was humming along whatever he was listening to on his headphones, one foot wiggling to the beat. Deeming it safe to speak again, Casey leaned to whisper at Raph, "Yeah, it was, but-"

"But you got a little too excited and she beat you up with a shovel?" Raph said, sarcastic. The more he looked, the more bruises he found on Casey's pale skin.

"Dude, what kinda guy you think I am?" Casey said, pointing an accusing finger at him. Raph didn't flinch and kept his sharp gaze nailed on Casey's. The kid faltered. "Okay, I might've gone for her butt-"

"And _then_ she punched you."

"It wasn't April!"

"Then what the hell happened to you? 'Cause I haven't seen you this jacked up since your little playdate with Hun!"

"Just a few jerks from the street that caught me off guard, we'll get 'em back. But hey, I brought you something!" Casey said quickly, turning around reaching for his backpack.

"Now you're being mysterious?" Raph said sardonically, watching Casey wrestle with the bag, which looked stuffed to near bursting point. The kid yanked hard trying to take whatever was in there out, grunting and puffing, his back to Raph so he couldn't see exactly what it was yet.

"Whatdya got there, a dead body?" Raph asked in an uninterested tone, refusing to let his curiosity show.

A throaty giggle was Casey's sole response and Raph narrowed his eyes in suspicion. When the mysterious object finally came loose, he threw it at Raph's face with a cry of victory.

"For you!"

Raph's quick reflexes took over, and he caught the thing in the air before he even saw what it was. But as soon as he had it in his hands, two beady eyes staring back at him behind the long antennae, Raph gave a shriek loud enough to crack asphalt.

"What _is_ that! Get it _off_! Get it _off_!" he screeched, on the edge of hysteria, throwing the thing as far away as possible while Casey burst into thunderous laughter.

The bug soared through the air and landed with a soft 'poof' against Mikey's shell. His ninja speed rescued it from falling into the water below. One look and a little squeal of delight left his mouth.

"Oooooh my gosh! That is the cutest thing!" Mikey cried as he held the plush creature at arm's length, taking in every detail with bright eyes full of wonder. "Is it yours, Raph?"

"No! Not mine! _Nobody's_! Burn it! _Burn it_!" Raphael yelled, backing up when he saw Mikey jumping off the ledge and getting closer with the thing in his arms.

"What are you saying, bro! She's like the prettiest, most adorable bug thing I've ever seen! If you don't want her, I'll keep her!"

"Fine! Anything! Do whatever the hell you want with it, just don't get it near me!" Raph panted, a hand clutching his plastron, but now more disgusted than anything.

Casey writhed on the floor, barely breathing, tears running down his bruised face, and Raph spun around to shoot him a murderous glower.

"You asshole! If you think the beating you got last night was something, wait till _I_ get a hold of you!" He snatched at Casey's collar, but the boy performed a swift twirl that left him grabbing air instead. Seething, he chased Casey around the common room, screaming bloody murder and making threats that only made Casey's cackles louder.

Mikey watched them for a bit and shrugged, not too impressed by the same fight he had seen dozens of times before. And it was pretty great to see that someone else was the subject of his brother's fury for once. He turned his gaze back down at the soft, pink, crustacean with the bow that seemed to look back up at him like a love-hungry puppy, and he felt his heart melt.

"Aww. I think I'll call you Beatrice!" he said tenderly, and hugged the plush creature to his chest.

* * *

The entrance lock went click and April heaved a sigh of relief in the sudden quiet. She shrugged off her backpack, sore muscles screaming a complaint, and lazily swung it towards the umbrella stand. The next thing she saw was her father in a flowery apron, coming out to the hallway to greet her, one hand holding a greasy spatula.

"Hey, April!"

"Hi, Dad!" she said, snuggling into Kirby's one armed hug. "Missed you."

"Missed you too, honey," Kirby said, kissing her head.

The smell of food reached her nose and she made a pleased sound. "Mmm, what's cooking? I'm starving!"

"Today, something special; spaghetti and meatballs."

"For lunch?"

"It's the Italian way!" he said with a wink, and she chuckled.

"Well, yum! Lemme just take a quick shower, I stink!" she said, and detoured towards the bathroom.

After freshening up, hot water soothing some of the discomfort on her abused joints, she went back to the kitchen to help set the table as Kirby started serving the pasta. Once seated, hair still wet, April noticed Kirby's eyes fixing on her forearms. With a rush of panic, she tried to cover the bruises, but it was too late. Her father motioned towards them with his fork.

"Hey, what happened?"

April bent her arms, giving up on her attempt at hiding them. She hadn't realized just how bruised her arms looked. It hadn't occurred to her to wear long-sleeves and now Kirby's brow was furrowed with concern.

"This? It's just from training," she said dismissively, trying to sound as unfazed as possible. The last thing she needed was for her dad to worry about her training with the turtles.

"Oh. You been with the guys?" he said with a cheerfulness that felt just a tad forced.

"Yep," she replied simply, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

"Great!"

There was a short pause of barely a few seconds, but it felt to April like an entire period of Trigonometry. Lately she had been avoiding talking too much about the turtles because the topic only seemed to trigger something in him, especially after their little argument. It had been a couple of weeks ago already, but they were both still dealing with the aftershocks -snatched glances and the occasional awkward, guilt-ridden, silence.

"How are they?" Kirby said suddenly, his unusually upbeat tone bringing April back to reality.

"Oh, uh, good. You know, the usual." She shrugged, and as an afterthought to assuage any potential qualms, she added, "Things are pretty quiet lately."

"Mm-hm," Kirby said, nodding his head as he chewed and April listened for any kind of inflection that could give him away. He was disconcertingly chill. Maybe the trip did help...

"Got any plans for the weekend?" he asked, taking a sip of his water.

"I'll have to do a lot of studying, if that counts."

"Okay, but don't overwork yourself. You really have to get out more."

April stopped herself short of shooting him a look.

She actually got out a lot. She was out with the turtles all the time. But she had a feeling that wasn't what her father had meant. It wasn't anything new; he had been reluctant to let her go after dark back once they rescued him from the Kraang, during the short time between one mutation and the next.

 _What a great couple of years._

But ever since he got back from Dimension X, he had been increasingly persistent that April hung out more. With kids. From school, maybe. Preferably _not_ mutants…

She had felt so betrayed, the day he finally said it. She could not believe it, after all the turtles had done for them; knowing what _she_ was.

Later he had tried to make amends. But the cards had been laid on the table, face up under a spotlight. April had found out what was really on his mind, and it was eating her inside, because she worried. She always worried about her dad's mental health these days, and the idea that her being with the turtles was the source of his anxiety was just too painful to accept. It had been shocking enough for him to learn she was a half-Kraang hybrid.

"Hey, why don't you invite one of your classmates over for a study date?"

April hesitated.

"Actually, Donnie already offered to help, so…"

"Oh, ok," Kirby said rather unassumingly before going back to his meatballs, and April cringed a little.

"Casey and I are both going," she added quickly as a counteractive. He replied with a single nod of affirmation, and she suppressed a sigh, admonished by her father's deceptive calm.

"Donnie says hi, by the way," April said.

She was watching her father intently now, so the quick flick of his eyes at her was easy to catch, before he lowered them back to the plate to continue eating.

"He's a good boy," he said with the faintest of smiles, his expression otherwise unreadable. "Say hi back when you see him. And tell him thanks for the lessons, from me too."

"I will."

As April learned to harness her mutant abilities, it became easier for her to be aware of people's feelings, and trying to hide them from her didn't do much good. She could feel her father's emotions rolling from him like radio broadcasts. They didn't translate into anything precise. But she could tell when he was upset, as if his body language wasn't telling enough. He wasn't lying, she didn't think. Not exactly. But his stinging thoughts had her wondering if he really meant that, or he was just trying to make up for the other day.

April poked the rubbery meatball around a few times before successfully sticking her fork in it. Dad had never been the best cook.

"You know, you should come over more often," she said after swallowing the lump of meat. "You could hang out with Master Splinter. You two have a lot in common."

"Really?" Kirby said with an unconvinced lift of his eyebrow.

April raised her hand and started counting the ways with her fingers. "You were both mutated, you both experienced loss, you're both single fathers…"

She realized that might have been a bit blunt. The recap of Kirby's stumbles in life never did sit well with him, but he hadn't gone through months of therapy for nothing, and it needed to be said. She sensed his discomfort, but a fleeting crease in his brow was his only reaction.

"Yes, I suppose that's true. But aside from that, we're nothing alike."

"My point is, it could be good for you. Maybe he could help you, you know, teach you meditation and stuff," she said, though it was a long shot. Her father may have been a hardcore hippy in his days, but he was still more a man of science in some aspects than even Donatello, and his skepticism towards anything else had only been reinforced over the years. He had a hard time accepting certain things, and Splinter's ancestral form of medicine was a long way from any academic standards. So April was not at all surprised by the non-answer that followed her proposal.

"Okay, I'll think about it!" he said with false enthusiasm. "Besides all that, how are things at school? Meet someone interesting?"

April knew where he was going with that and she wanted none of it right now.

"I'm not going to meet anybody new a month from finals week, dad."

"Guess you're right. Have you thought about what you want to study in college?"

Ah, yes. College. It was only like number twenty-four on the long list of things that worried her right now.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," she said drily, certainly not looking forward to a discussion on the matter.

"Don't you think it's time? Senior year is right around the corner. Next thing you know we have to start sending out applications."

April bit back a groan.

"Yeah, I know," she said with the closest to a normal voice she could manage, grasping for an excuse to change the subject. "But how about you? How was your trip? Did _you_ meet someone interesting?"

Kirby didn't take kindly to her attempt at evasion, judging from his look, but thankfully didn't insist.

"The other two monitors were nice, I guess, but that's about it. Did you dye your hair?" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Oh!" April said, sheepishly tucking the loose strand of wet hair behind her ear. "Yeah, just a streak. I went with Karai to this hairdresser and she ended up convincing me."

"Wow, I hadn't noticed! Look at you all alternative," he laughed, and April felt relief at the sound.

"It's just a streak," she chuckled.

"Groovy! What else did I miss in the day and a half that I've been gone?"

It had been a harmless, rhetorical question. But she hesitated. And in that split second, he had noticed. Her answer caught in her throat when she saw her father's look of suspicion, his fork held halfway to his lips. A couple of noodles slipped out of the coil and landed on the plate with a slick sound.

"April? Did something happen?"

When she avoided his gaze, helping down the food with a gulp of water, he set the fork down with a quiet clink and interlaced his fingers, one of his psychologist mannerisms that meant "please, go on". It always made her feel like she was being put on the couch. She shrugged noncommittally.

"Not really. I mean, nothing important."

"Whatever it is, I promise you can tell me, April," he said reassuringly, though that little notch in his brow read somewhat differently. It was obvious he was worried about the answer, and April knew why.

For the past couple of weeks, April had been thinking back to what could've given her away. She was always talking about the turtles, but mostly she was always talking about Donnie. She thought her father would be happy to hear all the cool stuff she did in his lab with Donnie all the time. She had practically been his trainee since the very first day that she'd been invited to their lair, as Donnie had always been so keen to teach her.

Being his assistant was an illuminating experience. She enjoyed it. They worked really well together. And she told her dad about every little gadget she'd helped Donnie make, every new project she had contributed to.

And it had likely been all that talk that had lead her dad to jump to certain conclusions, leading him to the day he popped the question.

"Is there something between you and Donatello?" he had asked her, and there had been a hint of dread in his voice that she hadn't anticipated.

Of course, she had denied all of it. The very thought appeared to have quadrupled her father's blood pressure levels in mere seconds. But also because it was the truth.

There _was_ nothing going on between her and Donnie. Beyond the usual, that is... Sure, there was always the matter of his hopeless crush on her, but he hadn't acted on it in a long time. They were friends. Just friends, with some peculiar luggage behind them.

But despite all her explanations -or perhaps as a result of them- she had been hard put to convince her dad. It was always hard, April knew, to convince someone of something you don't believe yourself.

She couldn't quite say when she'd started feeling this way about him. It must have been a gradual thing. It was a given now, but back then Donatello was still a humanoid mutant turtle with nerdish tendencies who had a gigantic, blatant crush on her. And she never knew quite what to do with that.

Then their relationship became something different, and it was much more than friendship, so much more than a teenage crush. It was trust. Comfort. Love. And recently it had also been… something else.

Back in the dojo… What was that? Donnie had never made her feel that way before. Hell, _nobody_ had made her feel that way.

 _I guess that means I'm finally coming of age..._

And apparently she hadn't made a great job of concealing it.

So when her dad asked if something had happened, she could make a pretty good guess as to what he was expecting her to answer. But her answer today would be something different. She had made sure of that.

"Um, well… I went out with someone. Once. It's nothing serious yet."

"Oh! Someone from school?" he said, and April could hear the latent "hopefully" in his words.

"Yeah, he's from school."

Kirby let out an audible gasp, clearly more excited after that last part."Why didn't you tell me? Well, what's he like?"

She decided not to hedge, and went right to the point."Uh.. it's Casey."

To April's chagrin, her father's smile drooped."Casey? Casey Jones?"

"Yeah, we went to the movies..." she said, trying hard to ignore her own disappointment. "Just… to see how it went. I kinda had a thing for him..."

Kirby let out a humorless laugh."Well, that's not exactly what I meant when I said you should start seeing normal people..."

"But… I thought you'd be glad!"

"Why? That kid skips more school than he attends!"

"But at least he's human, right?" she snapped.

The words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself, catching her father, and herself, off guard. Now he was giving her a measured look, the food on their plates forgotten.

"April," he started slowly, collectedly. "I'd hate to be one of those parents that constantly nag their daughters about who they can or can't date. I-I'm sorry I got so upset the other day, it's just… And it's not that I don't appreciate the turtles, I do! Especially Donatello-"

The hurt in her father's eyes made April's innards constrict. She averted her eyes when her face started growing hot at the mention of Donatello's name.

"Dad, there's nothing going on between me and Donatello. I already told you."

She was making it true, for him, but Kirby was still visibly skeptical.

"Alright, well, I don't have anything against Casey either. I just… I'd just like you to meet someone you can hang out with without the need for sword fights, or alien monsters or giant mutant snakes... things that won't require you putting your life on the line every time you go out."

"They're not putting my life on the line, dad!" she protested, not quite yelling, but already way past a normal conversational tone. There was only so much she could do to pretend like she was fine, that this didn't affect her.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"If anything, I'm _safer_ with them!"

Her father let out another dry chuckle. "I highly doubt that, April. I know they would never do it on purpose, but you can't deny that they are trouble magnets."

She set her jaw. "What do you want? You want me to just stop seeing them?"

"No. I'm not saying that..."

 _But you wish_ , April thought bitterly.

"...just that maybe you should... start thinking about your future, get a career, build a family. You know, lead a normal life. It's all we ever wanted."

April's neck hair stood on end. The last time she had heard that line, she was face to face with the Kraang monster that had impersonated her mother and almost eaten her alive.

"The only problem is that I'm not normal, dad," she said, the images that plagued her mind making her statement all the more true. "I'm never going to _be_ normal. So why bother? I feel at home with the guys. I'm one of them. And I can take care of myself, I know what I'm doing. Why don't you just trust me?"

"April, it's not that I don't trust- It's… You spend so much time with them. These boys are constantly getting themselves into deadly situation after deadly situation, and... Everytime you go on those so-called missions with them, I'm at home, completely unable to do _anything_ and worrying that you won't come back! Don't you get it, April? I don't want to go through any of that again, and if anything happens to you, I… You're all I have left, and if you... !"

His breathing came quick and shallow. April had seen this enough times to know what would happen if he kept down that path, and the last thing either of them needed was another panic attack.

She reached out to take his hands in hers, to stop his spasmodic onslaught of words before it escalated further.

"Okay, dad, okay! I'm sorry. I know," she said soothingly, once again cramming all the things she would've liked to say back into the already cramped broom closet of her head, just so her father could have peace of mind -even if it meant swallowing her frustration. "I'm sorry. Calm down. It's okay."

They went through a few breathing exercises, together. Slowly, his breathing started to even out.

"Dad, I get it," she said when he'd calmed down a little. "I know how you feel. But I can't just..." the words died in her mouth. She couldn't bear even the idea of committing to such a thing. She would do anything for her dad, but not this. She couldn't just stop seeing the turtles, she couldn't stop being a kunoichi. She needed it; it was who she was now. Taking away that part of her life would be like yanking off a limb and leaving her to bleed out.

"I… I can't stop seeing them, dad… They're family."

"I know, I'm not a- I can't ask you to! I'm not!" he protested. "Really. I just… I worry. It's okay," he said through a doleful sigh and an attempt at a smile, and straightened up on his chair. "We'll talk about this later, I'm getting a headache. Come on, the meatballs are getting cold..."

April watched her dad pick up the fork and try to work his way through the rest of the dish. She wanted to believe he was telling the truth, that he really wasn't asking her to cut ties with the turtles. But the emotional whirlpool in his head hadn't abated, and it washed pieces of rotting debris onto the shore of her consciousness.

"Okay, dad…" she said, voice thin from a sore windpipe, as if someone had punched her in the throat.

She picked up the fork and forced a cold meatball into her mouth, keeping vigil on her dad through the corner of her eyes. That made three people in two days that she'd hurt in some way. Must be a new record.

Master Splinter was right. She needed to get her _shit_ together. Or something better sounding anyway…

After clearing up the lunch table, April headed to her room with the excuse that she _really_ needed to study for this test, which wasn't a lie, but she already feared it would be impossible to concentrate on algebraic formulas after that argument. After thirty minutes of kneeling on the floor with her elbows on her bedspread, trying in vain to infuse some knowledge into her head, she ended up just staring blankly at the pages of her Trigonometry book.

She made one final effort to take in something, anything, before giving up altogether, and concentrated hard on one of the formulas. She recognized it immediately as the formula Donatello had helped her memorize a few weeks ago. All she had to do was conjure up Donnie's voice reciting it out loud and there it was.

She chuckled through her nose at the cosy, prickling sensation the simple memory of his voice elicited her. Suddenly she felt the near-irresistible urge to call him on his T-Phone, and listen to his kind, comforting voice.

Then she remembered it would more likely be rough and scratchy now, thanks to her. But she _had_ promised to call to ask how he was feeling after all. Better yet, she could invite him over for that study date he had promised.

 _Hah. Wouldn't dad love that?_

A smile snuck onto her lips, but it was gone before she even realized it was there.

Maybe her father was right, and maybe it was time she thought about her future.

All this time she had harbored these feelings, feared them, but only now was she really facing them head on. They had rioted out of their confinement the same moment she had been forced to deny them, and now… Now she had to find the way to lure them back into their cages.

* * *

 **As always, remember to review if you like it! It means a whole lot when you do. TvT**


	10. Chapter 10

**Whoops! Sorry for the delay!**

 **We got some nice Casey and Raph tomfoolery in this chapter, as well as a new message from the future, and... Beatrice?**

 **As always, a humongous thank you to our beta readers, Queequegg and Theherocomplex 3**

* * *

Casey propped his bike against the brick wall behind the dumpster -just in case- and climbed the ladder to the roof.

Already the foul smell of stale water from the docks filled his nostrils, and even the smell of old sweat in his mask couldn't block it. Once he clambered onto the ledge and hopped down to the roof floor, he slid up his mask to let it rest on his head. The chilly night breeze hit his cheeks as he looked across to the opposite ledge.

A figure sat in the dark, surrounded by a cooing, feathery cloud of pigeons and he grinned in mild astonishment. Raphael's gift with animals never ceased to amaze him.

The pigeons flapped around Raph, a lot of them perched on his shell, or his thighs, or on top of his head, and Casey probably would've thought the turtle was big bird feeder if it wasn't for the text he had gotten from him saying exactly where to find him. Casey watched for a bit as Raph caressed the head of the pigeon currently sitting on his fist, the rest looking up at him like puppies, fighting to see who got to be next.

Casey snickered at the picture of serenity and tenderness from one of the most temperamental people he knew—besides himself—and finally started towards him.

"Whoa, Raph, you're like a beefy, mutant, ninja Snow White."

The flock took wing at Casey's voice approaching, his gear rattling noisily with the movement. Raph shot him a glare through the exploding cloud of fluff flapping away in alarm.

"And you're like the beanstalk giant, you big klutz."

"Sing to them, Raph! Maybe they'll come back," Casey joked. From what he'd seen, who's to say it wouldn't actually work?

"You want a shuriken in the ass, Casey?" Raph warned.

"Is that what you told the huntsman?" Casey teased, knowing he was getting dangerously close to Raph's breaking point, which in actuality was nothing but a motivator.

"Will you shut up? It wasn't even funny on the first try!" Raph groaned, rising to his feet with a clear expression of being done with everything, and Casey instinctively took a couple of steps back.

"Alright, alright, easy," he said between laughs.

"Where were you, man? I'm freezing my ass off here."

Casey approached the ledge, steering clear of the ring of bird poop on the ground around Raph. It was amazing, the way Pigeon Lord managed to stay clean with all those birds on him. "Sorry, yo. I had to take a detour after hockey practice. A couple of our players haven't been showing up and coach wanted us to go look for them at home. You remember Billy?"

"The one you told me about that likes to sniff glue?"

"Yeah, that one." Casey snorted. Every story involving Billy so far had been a promise of priceless entertainment. "Well, he hasn't come to practice for weeks. Coach is all stressed out cuz there's a game coming up and we're one player short."

"Maybe he sniffed a little too much glue," Raph said, his mouth screwed up.

Casey drew up his shoulders, honestly baffled. "Well, no one was home and he's not answering his cellphone. Maybe he's in hospital or something."

"Or maybe he bailed. From what you've told me, he's a real douchebag."

Casey nodded lightly, thinking it was a lot like Billy to disappear before a final exam, or a game. He would probably just show up a couple days from now playing dumb, pretending like his phone got stolen or something.

"Coach is gonna flip his shit."

"I'd offer to cover for Billy, but you know..."

"Yeah, you're hopeless at hockey."

The blatant omission of Raph's non-human condition got a little honest chuckle from the turtle, and the kid smiled, pleased with himself.

"So what do we got so far?" he asked as they both sat down on the ledge, letting their feet dangle precariously over the three story fall.

"Zip. I've been watching the place for anything suspicious, but there hasn't been anything since I got here an hour ago," Raph grumbled, motioning towards the inconspicuous warehouse sitting dark and silent near the lamp-lit docks, among a dozen other warehouses just like it.

"How do you know this is the right place?"

"Because, Casey, while you were out getting it on with April yesterday, I was out here busting my ass making sure we didn't lose their trail."

Casey winced sheepishly.

"Much appreciated…" he said in a small voice.

"Anyway, I followed them here last night, they pulled in a truck and started unloading a bunch of crates, then they left. And then I left. That's it."

"So what do we do now?"

"We wait."

"Aw, man," Casey whined and set his heaviest gear down, psyching himself up to spend at least another hour sitting on the cold rooftop. This ninja stuff could be a real pain in the tailbone sometimes.

Casey had to admire the turtles' endurance in the cold. The clammy, salty air from the bay stuck to their skin and Casey's hoody was soon damp. After sitting still for so long, and despite the turtle's super-human nature -coupled with years of that rough ninja training- a tremor was starting to make its way onto Raph's bare arms. Tiny drops of dew formed on his biceps, which were bunched up like a sailor's knot, looking extremely poke-able. But Casey knew it would take a hell of a lot more than that before Raph resorted to clothing.

After a while in which absolutely nothing happened, a tune made its way into Casey's head, and there was nowhere else for it to go other than out of his mouth. He started humming, and it was only a few seconds before Raph reacted.

"I know you're not singing a princess song, Casey," he said dangerously.

"Sorry, dude, it's stuck in my head for some reason."

"That one's not even from Snow White, it's Cinderella."

"Well, you would know…" Casey said, trying to hold back laughter and doing a piss-poor job of it.

"Can we focus here? I swear, if it starts raining because of you…"

"You saying I'm a bad singer? Are you saying it to my face?" Casey said in mock-defiance, sitting up on his haunches to show Raph his gloved fist.

"If the shoe fits, Casey!" Raph retorted, a devious smile splitting his face.

"That's it, Raph! You just crossed the li-"

"Shh!"

Casey's pounce-ready stance was thrown inwards onto the roof floor by Raph's sledgehammer of an arm as the turtle crouched down behind the ledge, signalling downwards to the silhouette making its way down the road towards the warehouse entrance.

They waited, but the figure reached the entrance and walked right past it to disappear around a corner. Both brothers in arms groaned in disappointment as they sat their butts back down on the cold ledge to wait some more, once again falling into a leaden silence.

For about another twenty minutes the only sounds were of distant police sirens and Casey's heels thumping rhythmically against the brick wall, and even Raph was starting to get a serious case of the wiggles.

"So," Raph said suddenly and Casey turned towards him, only half awake at this point. "How'd it go?"

"Huh?" Casey said in honest confusion.

"Your _date_ ," Raph specified, pointedly chewing the last word, and Casey's eyebrows twitched. He hadn't really made up his mind yet on how he would describe that date, and was hoping the subject wouldn't come up so soon. Wishful thinking...

"Oh! Uhh, good. It was good," he said, avoiding Raph's eyes, and he scratched his ear a little pointlessly with his thick hockey mitts.

"Good, huh?" Raph drawled.

Casey realized that "good" had sounded a lot like "so-so", but he wasn't sure why there had to be so much satisfaction on Raph's stupid face.

"Yeah, we watched a movie, won the bug plush at the arcade, had a couple hot dogs… Date stuff, you know?"

"Not really," Raph said curtly, but his voice was tinted with mild amusement.

"Aww, you'll get your chance, Raph. I hear you're very popular with the lady birds," Casey jested, at the risk of getting his brain encrusted with his own nasal bones—which, judging by the murderous glower on Raph's face, was a probability. But that didn't stop Casey from breaking into a new fit of cackles.

It wasn't as funny when Raph recovered for his counter-attack.

"So does this mean you and April are a thing now?" he said, and Casey's laughter slowly trailed off into a nervous giggle as he struggled to keep his smile on his face.

"Wha- a thing like what?" he hedged.

"Is she your girlfriend or something, man!" Raph spat, a bark Casey would say was halfway between entertained and annoyed.

"Pfft, come on, dude! It was our first date! I didn't even get to cop a proper feel—or I kinda did. Well, I tried. It's just a matter of time," Casey said in an air of self-sufficiency, or what was meant to pass for such. "We're pretty much set for a second date already."

Raph gave him an unimpressed roll of his eyes.

"Great."

"Oh, just— Remember not to tell anyone until I say, okay?" Casey plead, forgetting to sound confident, and got a humorless grunt from Raph as sole confirmation before they both went silent again.

And for a bit they sat quietly, listening to the water lapping softly at the wooden docks. A huge ocean liner floated past, moving at a near glacial pace. By the time it was gone and the opposite bank was visible again, Raph's eyes were closed. He almost looked like he was meditating or something. Casey gave an impatient sigh and tipped his head back, neck issuing a muted crack, and then to the sides as he looked around him for any source of entertainment. If he'd been waiting for the bus, his phone would be out by now, but the turtles had a strict rule of no playing on one's phone while out on surveillance. And he didn't want to tempt fate, being this close to the water and knowing Raph's propensity towards flinging the objects that annoyed him.

So naturally it was only a matter of time before the tune inadvertently creeped into Casey's mind, persistent and sticky. The song fell from his brain and onto the back of his tongue and suddenly he was humming it again before he'd even registered that he was. _Cinderella_.

"Alright, that's it!" Raph exclaimed and Casey sprung backwards in a survival reflex, choking on the song and convinced that he was about to receive the beating of his life. However the turtle only trampled past him over to the fire escape. "We're goin' in!" he said.

"Finally!" Casey cried, sliding his hockey mask back down to cover his face.

"'Cause if I have to hear you sing Disney one more time, I'm going to have to slam your remaining teeth against the wall."

"Geez, Raph. When will you love me the way you love your pigeons?"

Raph granted him a hammerfist on the top of the head before clambering down the ladder.

* * *

Leonardo tapped his T-Phone twice, and the device emitted a lazy _bop_ as the chat closed. He stretched to set it down on his floor desk before getting up from the cushion, minding the inkwell. Donnie and April had added him to their conversation and he'd been loosely following it as he practiced his calligraphy until April decided to call it a night. It had been a casual chat about school and TV shows, because they still hadn't told anybody about future Donatello—although Leo knew Donnie was dying to. But he and Donnie had agreed to wait until they knew a little more.

It was a bit before midnight, and Leo deemed this the perfect time to take a break and make himself a bedtime cup of rooibos with valerian for a good night's sleep. The lair was eerily quiet when Raph wasn't around, and so far he hadn't seen or heard Mikey anywhere either. Judging by the light coming from the kitchen, he was probably stuffing his face.

On his way there he caught an unfamiliar shape through the corner of his eye lurking among the pillows, and in a split-second felt the tingling of adrenaline already coursing through his veins. His body was ready for a fight before he even knew why.

But a closer look verified that this thing was not a threat. Whatever it was... Pink and soft-looking, yet definitely not a pillow.

"What the…"

Leo approached the doll and poked it gently with his toe. It didn't look alive, which was something.

"Donnie? Can you come here a moment?"

He heard the soft padding of Donatello's bandaged feet through the lab, and a moment later Donatello himself slid out into the common room holding a steaming mug of coffee and wearing a curious frown. When Leo beckoned him forward he stepped closer to look at whatever had preoccupied Leo.

"What's up?"

" _That's_ up," Leonardo said, pointing at the doll. "Is it safe?"

Donnie approached the thing, brow furrowed in concentration. He gasped, "By Darwin's beard!" and Leo started, surprised by the alarm in his brother's voice.

"What? What is it?" he asked.

"I-I've never encountered anything like this!"

"What?" Leo insisted.

Donnie's voice changed, and Leo watched one corner of his lips tugging upwards ever so slightly.

"It's the ugliest doll I've ever seen," Donnie said, and turned towards Leo, eyes narrowed in a look of derision. "Seriously, this is what you call me for? Come on." He motioned a weary hand at the thing.

Leo shot him an offended glare, annoyed by the unnecessary sass.

"I'm just saying," he explained. "Maybe it's a trap, you know, a bomb or something. We've had weirder things happen to us."

"It's nothing like that, the sensors would've picked it up. It's safe," Donnie assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. Setting the mug aside, he knelt before the couch to get a closer look.

Leo grunted, unconvinced, still watching the thing from a safe distance.

"It's got a bow on it. I don't trust it," he said dramatically, and Donnie replied with an amused chuckle.

"So what is it? It looks like something from Dimension X," Leonardo continued, frowning as Donatello picked it up and turned it around to inspect its belly rimmed with legs.

"It looks like a giant isopod."

"A what?"

"A type of marine crustacean. You know, like a crab, or a prawn."

"Next you'll be telling me people eat these things…"

"This? This is a fake, Leo, you can't eat it. It's made of plush fabric and pillow filling," Donnie deadpanned.

"Wow, hilarious, Donnie. I meant the real ones!" Leo grumbled in mild annoyance and Donnie released a devious snigger.

"Don't get your shell in a twist, Leo, I was kidding," Donnie said, softly patting Leo's leg before standing up with the creature in his hands. The thing was the size of a four-year-old. "I've never heard of people eating these guys, but I wouldn't bet my life on it."

"That is gross," Leo said wrinkling his nose, and yet he couldn't help stretch out a hand to touch it. "Smooth, though."

"Yeah, it's kind of adorable, when you look at it. In its own weird way," Donnie said, giving the big white bow a gentle flick. "Looks huggable…"

Leo's nose wrinkled in disgust. Sure, Donnie would think that; he also liked getting snuggly with his trained spy-roaches and rubbing them on his face.

"Not sure I would go so far," Leo said.

Donatello shrugged, and taking a last once-over at the hideous toy, he brought it to his plastron and squeezed gently.

"How does it feel?" Leo asked, one edge of his mouth quirking upwards at the smile of comfort that had slowly made its way into his brother's expression.

"It's kinda nice. Wanna try?" Donnie offered holding out the isopod, its multiple tiny feet dangling from its bottom. Leonardo pressed his lips hesitantly, but curiosity got the best of him and he ended up taking the hideous thing. Cautiously he held it in his arms and embraced it. The flat belly settled nicely against his plastron and the little legs tickled his sides.

"Not bad," he admitted. "But why would anyone make a giant plush bug? And then put a stupid bow on it?"

Donatello took the bug from Leo and turned it over with a look of concentration. He released a little cry of triumph—the tag was sown near its tail, and Donnie was pulling on it with his fingers.

"Ah-hah! Just as I suspected!" He showed Leo the kanji printed on the tag. "It's made in Japan. Everything makes sense now."

"Oh, man," Leo laughed. "I should've known."

"Well, we know where it's _from_. But who brought—"

"Beatrice!"

The two brothers turned their heads at Mikey's cry, watching their other brother come running from the kitchen to yank the toy from Donatello's grip.

"What are you doing with Beatrice?" Mikey said, fussing over the thing as if he feared Donnie might have been conducting one of his weird experiments on it.

"Beatrice?" the two dumbstruck turtles said in unison.

"My new pet bug! She was a gift from Raph," Mikey explained once he'd made his thorough inspection of the doll to ensure that she was unharmed, his smile taking over most of his face.

Leo exchanged a look with Donnie. _Of course: Mikey._ Although he seriously doubted Raph of all people had done such a thing, and for more than one reason.

"And it's a girl," Donnie said in a tender tone of voice, as though gazing down on a new-born child.

Leo scoffed.

"Well, no question there."

"Whoa, whoa!" Mikey exclaimed suddenly, looking offended. "What are you saying, that it's wearing a bow so it's gotta be a girl? You saying boy bugs can't wear bows?"

"Ok, alright! So it's a boy bug named Beatrice?" Leo said, honestly at a loss.

"No! It's a girl!"

"But you said—"

"It's a girl because it's a girl! But not because she's wearing a bow!"

"You gotta admire his nonconformity with social standards," Donnie said with a smile and his arms crossed, as though Mikey was five and riding his bike without training wheels for the first time. Leo agreed to that with a nod.

"So what's she doing _here_?" he asked, already exhausted with the conversation.

"We were gonna watch Crognard. I left her here to go get us some cheese balls—and Ice Cream Kitty, of course."

Mikey flicked open the cooler he was carrying and they were greeted by Ice Cream Kitty's happy mewl and bright eyes.

"I see. Well, you and Beatrice and Ice Cream Kitty have fun," Leo said, ready to leave,

"Thanks! We will," Mikey said cheerfully, slumping onto the cushions with one arm around Beatrice and the other one around the open cooler. Donnie shook his head around a little chuckle as he leaned to pick up his mug.

About to say goodnight to his other brother as well, Leo stopped mid breath when he heard Donnie's T-Phone chime in a new message. As soon as Donnie took it out to look at the name, he directed a significant glance at Leo.

"It's him," he mouthed, and Leo's heart did a flip. With one last covert glance at Mikey, who looked too absorbed by the things now on screen, they both started towards the lab, and they left their little brother to enjoy the show alone with his two girlfriends.

* * *

Donnie and Leo rushed in the lab towards the computer desk, closing the doors behind them so they wouldn't be disturbed, and Crognard's war cries faded to a distant mutter. Donnie strode over to the desk, pressed a key and the screen came to life with the chat window in plain view.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Donatello? You there?_

Donnie's fingers flew over the keyboard. It had only been a day since they last made contact—which was _great_. He'd been afraid they wouldn't hear from them in a while, and the uncertainty was killing him.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _I'm here! With Leo! We have so many questions!_

In the pause that followed, both Donnie and Leo could hardly sit still, leaning in closer as if they needed to hear what the chat was saying.

"I hope they don't mind being asked some questions. I made a list, as you suggested," Leo said, holding up a paper with twelve-or-so entries.

"Me too!" Donnie squeaked excitedly, holding up his own list. He looked down at their papers, the scribbles occupying most of their surfaces. "We may not have time to ask them all this, though, so I hope you organized them by priority."

"Of course," Leo said, as if that was even a question after Donnie had been so insistent.

The computer pinged, and Donnie gave an exclamation, his hand making wild gesticulations.

"Oh!" he gasped. And then he frowned, a little taken aback by the download bar that had suddenly appeared, overlapping the chat.

"What is that?" Leo asked impatiently.

"It's downloading something."

"I hope it's not a movie torrent or anything, Donnie, because now's not the time."

"It wasn't me!" Donnie griped. "It's them! They're sending us something."

Leo looked confused.

"What the heck could they be sending us? Why aren't they _talking_ to us?"

Donnie leaned over the keyboard adopting a business position and dragged a few files that had already been sent to an appropriate image viewer. He thought maybe he might have needed to convert them to something he could open with his current custom computer's programs, but it seemed future Donatello had already taken care of it. The files opened with no further troubles and Donnie gawked at the contents—entire pages of all numbers and letters and very neat, but very complex drawings.

"They're… blueprints!" Donnie said, scrolling through the files, ecstatic. "For a portal! Future Donatello needs me to build the portal that they're going to use to get through to our universe! Man, these designs are so ingenious," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. "It would've taken me _ages_ to figure this all out. And it probably did; obviously I- _he_ spent a lot of time trying to come up with a way." A soft chuckle of admiration escaped his throat. There was still so much to learn and that pleased him.

"I thought they were gonna use a wormhole."

"Wormholes can be tiny, like the head of a pin," Donatello explained, pretending to hold something of that size between his thumb and forefinger. "The portal will force it open so that it's man-sized, kinda like a speculum."

"If that's what I think it is, ew," Leo said, holding up his hands at Donnie. "But seriously, can't you try to talk to them?"

"I did try, but they're not answering," Donnie said thoughtfully, glancing at the download bar. "It could be that the download is using up all the bandwidth. Maybe when it's done…" The speakers gave a beep then. "Oh. It's done!"

"And?" Leo demanded. Donatello couldn't blame him; the suspense was killing him too. But all that suspense died abruptly when the chat icon turned gray.

"Huh. Connection's lost. But look at this!"

Donnie's disappointment couldn't last for long. Not when there were so many beautiful blueprints to study and put into practice!

"Lost? What- But… That's it?" Donnie heard Leo say beside him. But he could barely bring himself to pay any attention and he continued to ravage the blueprints, even as Leo's head flicked back and forth between him and the screen. These were just too _fascinating_.

"Oh, man… this is brilliant! Remind me to compliment myself when I see me!"

"Pssh. What a rip-off."

At the words, Donatello turned to shoot Leo a look of offense.

" _Rip-off?_ " he barked in incredulity, and rolled his eyes. "You uncultured nincompoop," he murmured, ignoring Leo's resulting face of indignation as he was too busy scrolling through the pages upon pages of instructions which were making him a giddy, rambling, mess, almost missing Leonardo's next words.

"Anyway, maybe I should leave you and your… _things_ alone for a few moments," his brother said, and the little part of Donnie that caught the disappointment in his voice made him turn to see him pick up his list of unanswered questions with a frustrated swipe and head for the door. He thought about saying something reassuring, but a new ping beat him to it.

When he saw a new message in the chat, he jumped with renewed excitement.

"Oh- Leo! They're back!"

Leonardo was back at his shoulder before he could finish his sentence, leaning in close to the screen beyond the recommended distance to read the words.

"What are they saying?"

Donnie read out loud.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Hey. Sorry for the early disconnect, but we think it's best if we talk as little as possible unless it's imperative that you know something._

 _Turns out there_ is _something you should know. Nothing too serious._

 _But keep an eye out for a Chinese red pendant. If you find one, make sure it's safe._

Donnie turned to look at Leo, wondering if he would know something about that, but he was met by the same questioning look he had. He turned back to the screen to type a question he knew was in both their minds.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Safe how? Is it dangerous? Is someone looking for it?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Maybe. Keep an eye out, that's all._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Anything else?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Not right now._

Now genuinely suspicious of their lack of comment, Donnie actually finished typing the words "are you sure?" before he was interrupted by another message.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _We'll contact you in three days to give you the time and coordinates. I'm pretty sure you don't need the incentive... but it would be advisable that the portal be finished by then._

 _Oh, yeah: tell Karai not to go anywhere, at least until we get there._

Donnie and Leo exchanged another look, then Donnie rushed in to delete the previous words and type the next question before they could leave them hanging again.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Why?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Just in case. Just making sure she's there too when we arrive. Wouldn't want her to miss it. Meanwhile get everyone up to speed as well!_

 _Talk in a few days._

 _Over and out!_

"Uh-" Donnie croaked, hands reaching out towards the screen as if that could keep them from leaving again. The last few messages had come in such quick succession that Donnie couldn't type a reply fast enough before the signal was lost again.

Surprisingly, this short conversation had produced many more questions than it had answered.

"Karai? What's up with Karai?" Leonardo demanded, as if he trusted Donnie to know something. _Anything_. But all Donnie could do was shake his head in bewilderment.

"I have no idea," he said, cold concern pooling at the pit of his stomach.

"And what's this thing about a Chinese pendant? Where would this Chinese pendant even come from?"

"I guess we'll just have to… keep an eye out."

They both stared at the words left there by their future selves, who seemed to be going out of their way to leave them confused and worried. Leonardo's voice was small and tentative when he finally spoke.

"Do you think something happens to Karai?"

Donnie tried to suppress the brief little furrow on his brow, but judging by the look his brother was giving him, his concern hadn't been lost on him. Donnie quickly adopted a lighter, more carefree expression.

"Nah. It could be anything, Leo. They would've said something else if it was serious, they would want to make sure," he told him reassuringly, hoping it was as true as he had actually made it sound. It had to be. Why wouldn't they want to tell them if it was something really bad, if only to make sure they did everything they could to prevent it? The thought put his mind a bit more at ease.

"I suppose you're right," Leo conceded, but the fog hadn't completely lifted from his eyes.

* * *

 **Remember! Reviews are writer chow! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Omagash we got more plot developmente here, guys! Something's cookin'...**

 **Action and lots of Rasey bromance.**

 **And remember that ninja clan from the first chapter?**

Here's a short recap of the main Lotus characters:

 **Hachisu-no-Hana** , the kashira.

 **Jiro** , the old master.

 **Iwao** , the veteran.

 **Atsuko** , the fox.

 **Wakai** , the eager one.

* * *

Anyone watching the street would probably not have been able to tell at first glance what those two figures crossing the pavement were. They would not have known whether to call the police, Animal Control or the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, because neither of the silhouettes appeared all that human. One bulky and green with a big, smooth, hairless head, the other with a white cadaverous face and long, stiff appendages jutting out in all directions that made him look like a four-armed stalking man-spider in the distance.

Hopefully, thought Raph, this part of town was as empty as it looked and nobody was there to see them as they stealthily made their way towards the dark warehouse.

That is, as stealthily as Casey's heavy gear would allow. Raph scowled when they pushed themselves flat against the wall in shadows and the hockey sticks clanked noisily against each other yet again.

Casey _was_ getting a little better at it after a couple years of patrolling the streets with him and his brothers, but stealth missions were still definitely not his forte. With luck this mission wouldn't require much finesse, - just go in, find out what the Purple Dragons have been up to lately, and leave.

Raph was at the vanguard, looking out for any surveillance cameras as they moved close to the wall. They made it to the garage doors, where Raph had seen the Purple Dragons unload the mysterious crates last night. Each had a big tough lock as was to be expected, but that had never been a challenge for Raph. Crouched on the ground, he produced a lockpick from his belt and began to expertly pick the keyhole under Casey's fascinated eye.

"Yo, Raph, you gotta teach me how to do that," he whispered eagerly, and Raph briefly took his eyes off his task to send him a dubious sideways glance. "What? I would use it for the greater good, man!"

"Never doubt it," Raph replied with a crooked smile.

"Damn right!"

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping watch?"

Casey mumbled something and he turned away to the desolate street, tapping his foot. It wasn't long before the satisfying _click_ that announced Raph's victory against the lock.

They pulled the garage door up enough to take a peek through. After checking it was safe and there was nothing in sight but darkness, they went in.

Inevitably the metal door clanked noisily as they rolled it back down, resounding through the cavernous room. Raph made them wait until the echo had died to make sure, and when everything was quiet again they took out their flashlights and shone them around.

Everything seemed pretty harmless at first glance. The vast open space was packed with rows and rows of cardboard boxes and wooden crates, some of them stacked as high as the upstairs catwalk, all labeled with Chinese hanzis that meant nothing to either of them. There could be anything in these containers. And there were literally hundreds of them, each one looking just as innocuous or suspicious as the next.

Raph let out a long heavy sigh. "This'll take a while."

"We don't have to…?"

"Look in every one of them? Yes." Raph walked over to the nearest pile.

"All of them?" Casey exclaimed with an agonized groan.

"Until we find something suspicious."

"Dude, have you seen the size of this place? We could be here for hours! Why don't you ever take me anywhere nice?"

"Come on, Casey, stop being a whiny little baby and get started over there!" Raph grumbled, signalling towards the opposite row as he picked up a crowbar and pried open the first crate.

Casey huffed, but picked up another crowbar and got to work on his aisle. One by one, the lids came off, but there was nothing inside the crates that could be deemed dangerous or shifty -or, maybe it was all shifty, but in a whole different sense. "Darbie" dolls, misshapen Spiderman figures, brand imitation clothing, and all sorts of office supplies and kitchen utensils made in China. By the looks of it, the Purple Dragons were running an import business of the highest caliber, and going by the sheer size of the place, they seemed to be providing for every convenience store around the city. Raph would bet his sais they weren't doing it in the most honorable or law-abiding of ways either.

"Damn, this place is full of crap," he said, opening the twentieth crate and shining his flashlight on the packaging to find dozens of some kind of little girl's purses with the face of a cheerful looking kitten on every one of them. "The hell- 'Hola Gato'?" Raph pronounced in awful Spanish. "This stuff is terrible!"

"This stuff is great!" Casey contradicted, already sounding much happier about the task commended to him. "The place is a gold mine!" he exclaimed, excitedly opening another crate to see what else he could find.

"A crap mine, more like." Raph laughed, but couldn't help wonder which of the color variations of the purse Mikey would like more.

"No way!" Casey cried, holding up a pair of jeans. "Raph, look! Brand new Levis! And I think they're my size!"

"And _I_ think that says 'Lewis', Casey…"

"So? You can barely tell the difference." The sound of a zipper told Raph that Casey hadn't wasted any time taking off his pants to try the new pair on and he rolled his eyes as he turned to the next crate. He could hear Casey grunt behind him, struggling with his pants - he was trying to take them off over his Converse, the oaf- as Raph cranked open the crate. He hadn't noticed the faint greenish glow seeping from the cracks in the wood. When the lid came off with a crack, the light spilled out, flooding his field of vision.

"Whoa!" he cried, and heard the zipper again behind him, followed by the quick tapping of soles on concrete, and a moment later Casey was by his side, fake Levis still in his hand.

"What? What'd ya find?"

Raph greeted Casey with one glowing canister held aloft, its viscous light chiseling the kid's already strong features into a macabre mask, irises glowing a radioactive green.

"Mutagen." Raph spoke the word like a bad omen.

"What?" Casey said, taking the canister to make sure, draping the 'Lewis' jeans over his shoulder. "But… I thought you guys said all the mutagen was gone! I thought we were done with all this alien shit! Does this mean the Kraang are back?" he hissed once he confirmed that the entire crate was full of the stuff.

But Raph shook his head, brow knitted in thought.

"Not necessarily. The city cleaned up the mutagen that was left. Donnie used the last he had making Karai her retromutagen and we haven't been able to find any more since." He knelt to point his flashlight at the crate's label, then moved around the surrounding crates, inspecting them. "I'm guessing the government had it stored somewhere and the Purple Dragons managed to somehow get their mitts on it."

He grabbed the crowbar and cracked open another crate with a similar-looking label to confirm it was also full of canisters. The tall walls of containers on either side were illuminated by the open wells of light, like gates to the underworld. He couldn't really tell how much of it was in this warehouse, or what the Purple Dragons would want it for. Either way it certainly wasn't good news.

"We gotta tell-"

Casey's words were cut short by the sudden clatter of the garage door opening, followed by a few voices. Three silhouettes came into view, backlit by a pair of headlights.

"Damn cheap lock! We'll have to get a new one."

"Told you we shouldn't have used one of our own…"

"Leave that for later. Let's get the boss what he wants."

There was nowhere to hide among the tightly packed rows of crates. With a loud crack, the entire place was flooded in blinding fluorescent light, leaving Raph and Casey exposed, and in plain sight of the three figures standing between them and the exit. Staying still as mannequins didn't help and their old friend Fong, accompanied by his usual cohorts, Tsoi and Sid, froze in place, eyes wide in surprise.

"Hey! Put those jeans back!" Fong said, pointing a menacing finger at Casey.

Raph saw his friend sneer for a moment before the mask came down to hide his face, hockey stick now gripped tightly in his gloved fists.

Casey dumped the jeans on the ground, and kicked them away dismissively. His eyes lit up with wicked delight at Fong's reaction to the gesture, a snarl forming on the crook's lips as he readied his butcher knife.

Fong yelled in Chinese something Casey didn't understand. But a moment later an entire gang of men appeared through the garage doors to join them. Ten additional men now stood behind the trio, wielding anything from chains to crowbars and knives. But neither Raph nor Casey would've been the least bit intimidated if they had been three times as many. Some were even confident enough to use their own fists.

Adorable…

The rookies that formed most of the Purple Dragons' forces were at this point little more than warm-up for the pair of vigilantes, but these guys never seemed to get the message…

"Oh, yeah. Tonight's gonna be fun after all," Casey said with satisfaction, voice muffled by his mask as Raph whipped out his own weapons. He spun the sais, as though shaking them awake.

Raph and Casey looked at each other and shared a sneer. Then, with a single nod, they lunged forward.

At Fong's command, the small army of men ran at them, yelling, and Raph threw a couple of smoke bombs at the stampede of men. The pack was enveloped in a wall of smoke, stopping them in their tracks and scattering them. Raph might as well have wrapped them up for Casey and put a bow on them.

"Stay clear of the mutagen!" Raph warned.

"Right!"

The kid dashed through the already dissipating fog toward the disoriented Purple Dragons, tripping dudes to the floor with his hockey stick and hearing the satisfying grunts and yelps of surprise. But before he could make it through the crowd, one hand flew in out of nowhere and grabbed him by the hood. The momentum made Casey's feet lift off the ground as his torso fell with a dry thud. He gasped, and rolled away just in time to avoid getting hit by Tsoi's sledgehammer. A kick in the dude's shin had him on his knees and gave Casey time to get back up onto his feet and whack another attacker on the face while he was on it.

As he skated away back across another group of bad guys -most of which ended up on the floor- he crossed paths with Raph.

The turtle was charging at full speed. Casey saw him jump, wall kick himself off a pile of crates. He landed a kick on a thug's ear before landing on another one's shoulders, the weight of his bulk making the guy's knees buckle as Raph bounced off to tackle a third to the ground, knocking him out with one punch.

Raph roared his triumph, his hand meeting Casey's in a smack that resounded even over the tumult as they each picked their next target.

Casey only wished these idiots could see the sneer underneath his mask, his agitated breath blowing puffs of moisture over his own face. But it was exhilarating, standing here, shoulder to shoulder with his best friend, his partner. Nothing could top this. Combined they were like a cold front and a hot front colliding to make a cyclone of blunt force trauma.

Already a few of the thugs that were still standing looked like they were seriously considering calling it a night and running off home to hide under their mammas' skirts rather than trying to fight these two forces of nature. Those poor noobs were easiest to take down. Petrified, they barely put up resistance as Casey gave them each a quick taste of his sticks.

"Stage fright, buddy?" he said as he whacked one of them upside the head before turning to the other one. "You too? This'll help you relax! Ask your friend!" He held up his stick as though offering it to the man and the man shook from head to toe. But he still ran at Casey with a shrieking roar, pipe raised high. He swung, but Casey skated out of the way and the pipe hit another thug in the nose. He didn't stop there, chasing Casey around, wildly flinging the metallic pipe until someone else caught it in one hand.

"You worthless piece of-" Fong yelled and yanked the pipe from the other's hands to hit him with it. The distraction was enough for Casey to drop back in and a moment later Fong was landing butt-first -and noisily- into a box full of squeaky rubber ducks.

"Raph! Please, tell me you saw that!" Casey guffawed.

"Heard it! Wasn't looking though!" Raph cried as he blocked a blow from Tsoi's sledgehammer and returned the favor with a blow to the face. "You're gonna have to do it again!"

"With pleasure!" Casey said, repeating the move on Sid. The big oaf fell on top of Fong, who had been trying to get up from the pile of toys, the impact producing a chorus of deafening squeaks.

Now Raph joined Casey in his laughter. But the celebration did not last, as out of nowhere another Purple Dragon, taking advantage of the distraction, came at Raphael with his two-handed iron flail.

Casey didn't have time to warn him.

The heavy ball struck Raph's plastron with a crack, the impact propelling him backwards. Casey watched, wide-eyed, as the turtle's shell slammed into a wooden crate that burst into splinters, scattering the contents on the ground -in this case, bags of mochi.

"Raph!" Casey yelled and ran to his aid, but another Purple Dragon was in his way, already sporting a gash on the cheek. The poor guy was desperately flapping a butterfly knife at him. Deflecting a swing, Casey whacked the man on his wrist, the weapon falling out of his hand. Casey shoved his stick into the other's chest and used it to pin him against the crates. He turned his head, eyes searching for Raph. "You okay, man?"

"Sure," Raph gritted out with a wince of pain, heaving himself up off the pile of ripped bags. Luckily most of the enemies were already down -not to mention terrified of even coming close to the mutant- and he had time to shake off some of the food that had stuck to his lower shell before Guy With Flail was back.

Casey slammed a knee into his goon's crotch that left him slowly sliding to the ground with a prolonged wail of pain, as Casey ran over to assist Raph. But by the time he got there, Raph had already carried out his revenge, the brute lying face down on the ground like a log.

"Whoa!" Casey exclaimed, stepping over the dude's motionless form and picking up the weapon he had dropped. "Miniature demolition ball! I think I might keep it!"

"Look out!" Raph yelled, and threw a bag of frozen dim sum that flew right by Casey's ear. A split-second later he heard the impact behind him and a cry of surprise. It was Fong, who had _almost_ caught them off their guard.

"Good throw, Raph!" shouted Casey, suddenly feeling like trying it out himself and so he picked up the first thing he found from another crate, a foldable beach chair, and threw it at the few men regrouping a little further down the aisle. The chair sprung open on impact and three men ended up sprawled on the ground as if a grenade had gone off between them.

"Hah!" Casey exclaimed, performing a victory fist pump.

Seeing the good results that this new tactic offered, both Raph and Casey started yanking various objects from the open crates and flinging them mercilessly at their adversaries. What had begun as your regular street fight had become a school lunchroom battle royal, with whole pre-cooked chickens, tubes of Chee-Z balls and cross-eyed dolls flying in all directions.

Before long, the group of goons had been decimated to just a few remaining masochists -because there was no other explanation for their persistence. Fong barely had any men left standing as one by one they had either fallen under the shower of once-vendibles or run away. But apparently he still had enough fight left in him to rise, in the middle of the battle field, and scream at the top of his lungs, "Stop ruining our merchandise!"

His defiant shriek earned him a basketball to the mouth. Fong's cry of pain was music to Casey's ears, and he guffawed jubilantly as the criminal scum made a shaking attempt to pick himself up off the floor while rubbing his bleeding nose. To one side, Raph was just finishing off the last of the hoodlums. Only one more left to go and then they could tie them all up in a big bunch while they and the rest of the turtles took the mutagen to a safe place.

So before Fong could get to his feet again, Casey was there, stick raised overhead and ready to swing until a shadow caught his eye.

Casey froze, watching the new silhouette slither into view, stage left. Like the image of a god come to Earth the figure paused at the entrance, dramatically lit against the truck's lights, before stepping inside into the well-lit space.

Hun stood there, nostrils flaring and sunglasses glinting menacingly, scanning the scene. One shout - _what is going on in here!_ \- and Fong scrambled away from Casey to welcome his boss, while all Casey could do was stare. Struck dumb, frozen in place, and covered in stray packing peanuts and cheese balls.

"You again," Hun said, his voice cold but his eyes ablaze.

Hun pulled his spiked brass knuckles from his back pockets and very slowly, very ceremoniously, slipped them on, flashing them with one of his shrill kung-fu battle shouts that made Casey's hairs stand on end. But not because he was scared. No, it was anticipation. He'd been craving for another chance at this for months and this was the moment of his revenge. Together with Raph they would finally-

"Casey, don't you dare!"

Casey spun around and spotted the warning glower in Raph's green eyes. He hadn't noticed him back there.

"I know what you're thinking," the turtle insisted, pointing his sai at Casey's head. "Don't. We're getting out of here."

"What?! Raph, this is our chance!"

"Our chance to be part of Hun's stamp collection?" Raphael gritted out, voice sharp with impatience.

Hun's shout had worked like a summoning spell for the dead, and the Purple Dragons that had been littering the floor -at least the ones who were conscious- started getting up and joining their boss. Some were limping, a few of them rubbing their aching bodies, but all of them revived with new confidence as they all stood by their leader, between the intruders and the exit.

This all just gave Casey a moment's pause as the rational part of his brain rebelled -the tiny, wuss puss kid nobody ever listened to. Now wasn't any different. Hun was the stain on Casey's pride, and Casey had won seemingly hopeless games before.

"Raph, you with me or not?"

"I'm with ya, Case! That's why you're not fighting Hun!"

Casey growled in frustration and poised himself for combat, facing down his already advancing enemy.

"Fine! I'll take him down myself!"

"Don't make me carry you, Casey! I'm warning you!"

Casey scoffed, getting ready to pounce. Raphael would have to do better than that. "Screw you, Ra-hck!"

He felt his body twitch involuntarily before he even registered the touch of Raph's finger on the hollow of his shoulder, a sharp jolt shooting down his arm, through his spine. His knees gave way and before he knew it he was on the ground, spasming, his limbs numb and unresponsive.

"Sorry, Casey. Not today," Raph said, moving quickly.

Casey could barely protest as he saw his revenge getting flung out the window. Raph threw two shurikens, and Hun deflected them with his brass knuckles as though shooing an irritating fly. But Raph had thrown a third one, a bit to Hun's right, that he had obviously taken for granted.

...until the fire extinguisher started whistling through its new hole.

The metal casing burst, a cloud of white engulfing the group of Purple Dragons for a few seconds, enough for Raph to promptly pick up Casey off the ground and carry him up a ladder through the nearest window.

"Where are they!" they heard Hun shout in the distance.

* * *

The two strange figures fled the scene and eventually got lost in the shadows.

What they didn't know was that someone had seen the whole thing, from beginning to end.

"They're a little unorthodox, to say the least," said Iwao, and squat atop the rooftop ledge overlooking the docks scratching an itchy scar on his face.

Jiro chuckled beside him.

"But effective."

"Of one thing we can be certain." Fourteen warriors turned to their kashira, perched at the edge like a bird of prey who has spotted something in the tall grass. "They are not your ordinary street brawlers."

* * *

Raph didn't stop until they were deep underground, a good distance away from the docks. Burdened with an extra 140 pounds on his back, it had taken him too long to lose their pursuers. Casey had recently started kicking and thrashing against his grip, the effects of Raph's disabling nerve strike finally wearing off.

"Let go o' me, man!"

Raph did as he was asked, unceremoniously so, and Casey landed on the dank sewer floor with a grunt. Arms and legs still unable to support him, Casey propped himself on his elbow to yell at the turtle.

"What in the hell did you have to do that for! What _was_ that!"

"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing," Raph countered, arms crossed and mouth straight.

"We were trashing those guys, we had 'em! It was our chance!"

"We were out-matched."

"You can't know that until you actually fight!"

Raph stared in absolute incredulity.

"Man, I always knew you were crazy. That's alright, I can work with crazy. It's the _stupid_ I can't stand," Raph spat. "And right now you're being _very_ stupid."

"Hey, Raph, fuck you! Alright? That guy is a menace to the city, he needs to be put down and you know it!"

"Don't give me that hero bologna, you're just pissed 'cause he beat you up those other times and you wanna go all desperado on him, you blockhead. You think I can't tell?"

"You don't get it, Raph." Casey's teeth were bared, glinting with the little light that filtered from a grate as he hopelessly tried to push himself to his knees.

"I get it, Case. You gotta trust me on that. But do I need to remind you what happened last time you tried to take on this guy? I barely got there in time to drag your unconscious ass out to safety. You didn't wake up for like a day? I was scared shitless! We all were! Any of this ringin' any bells?" Raph shouted, hands balled-up into fists at his sides to keep himself from whacking the man upside his head. " _You're_ the one who doesn't get it! He could've killed you! And you know, I'm not down with that!"

When Raph was finished he stood above Casey, who was still on the floor, and he tried to use his superior vantage to impose himself. A bad habit. It had never worked on Casey, not when the kid was being this stubborn, and it didn't work this time either. Casey looked straight up at him like he was threatening to pounce, his lips so tight they were turning into a thin white line.

But a few tense seconds passed and Casey sighed in resignation, a pout replacing the scowl. Rapha relaxed and reached for his pocket. All this precious time wasted fighting and running away and they still hadn't called the others. Now that it was safe, he pulled out his T-Phone to give his brothers the full report-only to realize it had been smashed during the fight. The phone had one big crack across the back, how appropriate; this was exactly how Raph's poor shell felt right now. The thing probably broke when he got thrown against that crate, too. _Shit_.

"Case, your phone."

"Uh," muttered Casey, slowly reaching for his back pocket, and handed Raph the device.

Raph sighed right after unblocking the screen, "No signal down here. Well, it's been awhile since we left the warehouse. Mutagen is probably _gone_ by now."

They weren't far from the lair. It would be easier to just go back there and tell the guys in person -and while he was at it, wash off all the mochi smears off his skin before going back out. He turned back to Casey, ready to pick him up again.

"I'm gonna get you home to sleep this off. You gonna stop squirming now or am I gonna have to poke you again? I'll knock you out for good, Case."

Casey scoffed, but he took Raph's hand when he offered it to help him get on his feet.

"We'll get him, Casey. I just gotta make sure you're gonna be smart about it."

"Sheesh, when did you get so much like Leo, man?" Casey said, adopting a dramatized expression of disgust.

"Say that again and you'll be getting home by postage," Raph threatened, pulling Casey's arm over his shoulders, yanking just a little too hard on purpose when Casey started laughing again.

 _This idiot. Can't just stay mad like everybody else_ , Raph thought with a grin of his own.

Raph had to practically carry Casey through most obstacles like he was a brittle old man.

When he had dropped Casey off at his door, and when he was sure Casey had made it to his dad's apartment, the orange light of a bare bulb in his window and the slumping silhouette passing by, he made a final sprint home.

He hoped it wouldn't be too late and they could still at least trace the mutagen.

Everyone seemed to be asleep when Raph got back to the lair, all lights out, and not even Donnie was in his lab. He decided to take a moment to at least freshen up a bit before having to go out again and made a beeline for his room. But by the time he sat on his bed to replace the dirty bandages on his feet, he was so beat, so sore... and his back hurt like _Hell_... and the lair was so quiet... - and _oh_ , his bed felt so soft and warm... To think he was going to have to wake everybody up right away and start giving explanations, after which they'd probably want to go all the way back there for the mutagen - yeah, totally looking forward to another expedition like that.

Before he even realized it, he was suddenly sprawled out on the bed. He just wanted to rest his eyes for a tiny bit. _What's a couple more minutes now, anyway…?_ he reassured himself as he snuggled against the softness of his pillow, fighting to keep his eyes open.

* * *

After a while, once the goons had loaded the truck with the mysterious crates and left, and the warehouse was once again dark and silent, another group of silhouettes crossed the street; another lock was picked. The figures moved silently among the mess of toppled over crates and junk, like cats. One of them signalled another over and they both kneeled over the layer of fire extinguisher covering the ground. There was an object there glinting under the flashlight and Hachisu gingerly picked it up, wiping the white stuff off on her leg and turning it around in her hand to see it.

She sprung to her feet, brow furrowed as she stared at the symbol engraved on the shuriken.

"Jiro," she said, and the old man approached her at once. A little wary of the look on her face, Jiro glanced at the object she was showing him.

"The Hamato clan?" he breathed. "But… they live?"

"Apparently so. Somehow," Hachisu said, and she slipped the shuriken inside her sash where she kept her own.

"What now, kashira?"

"We find them, and we talk to their leader. With luck, we can make them our allies."

* * *

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	12. Chapter 12

**Family and some nice bubbly Apriltello in this chapter. An interlude of sorts.**

 **As always, huge HUGE thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex. You have no idea how much we're improving thanks to you guys.**

* * *

After that uncomfortable lunch, April felt an awkward shift between herself and her father, she spent all afternoon in her bedroom, spaghetti sitting like a rock in her stomach, trying to make good use of her time—emphasis on "trying".

That night, she went to bed early with nothing more than a downhearted "good night" and a routine peck on the cheek. So she hadn't expected to find her father in the kitchen that morning, presenting her with a smile and a small tray of fresh pastries from the bakery down the street. The delicious fumes wafted across the kitchen and into her nose and her belly growled fiercely, reminding her that she had barely eaten last night.

April went up to her dad, cautiously optimistic, and asked, "What's this?"

Her father smiled ruefully when he answered.

"You've been so helpful lately, I just wanted your Sunday to start off with a bang." He reached out and tucked the purple strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to take the day off, go see the turtles. Have fun."

April knew that this probably was nothing but a little respite, probably him just trying to compensate for last night's argument. Things between them were not all solved. But she didn't want to worry about that now because, at least for today, she could look forward to a guilt-free hangout session at the lair.

She felt as though her dad had just pulled her free from a cave-in after days in the dark—she just felt immensely grateful for that new lungful of fresh air. When she walked out the front door, her backpack full of books was the only weight she felt on her shoulders.

* * *

Raph was not a morning person. Couple that with a very short, very bad night's sleep, and Raph could hardly qualify as a living person that morning. And on top of that, he had gone to bed without first taking off his gear. Not the first time that had happened, and his joints resented him now, leg propped up in an awkward angle against the bulk of his kneepad. His body felt several dozen pounds heavier than usual, and his carapace might as well have turned into solid iron.

He would have gone straight for the half-empty can of Wake Up on the nightstand, but the call of nature was too loud to ignore, like the friggin' drums of Jumanji. Raph scrambled through the hallway and across the common room towards the bathroom, only to find it locked from the inside, the sound of rushing water telling him someone was using the shower. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Who the hell's in there?" he said in an angry, hoarse slur. His tongue was still half-asleep too. "I'm in no mood for this, and nobody fucking dare mention the bathroom schedule unless they want it stuffed where the sun don't shine!"

To his surprise and absolute disgrace, this time it was Splinter's voice resonating through the door.

"Raphael! What kind of language is that? Learn some manners and practice the virtue of patience!" Splinter yelled, his voice partly distorted by the sound of running water.

Raph's stomach did a flip. "I'm-I'm sorry, sensei, I didn't know you were in there…"

"It shouldn't matter who is in here! You must learn to respect other people's time! The bathroom is not your property!"

"Hai, sensei!"

"Now, would it be too much to ask that you leave me to carry out my personal hygiene in peace?"

"Hai, sensei! I mean no! No, sensei, go ahead," he stammered. Man, he must have really slept in if he had just managed to catch Splinter in his bathroom time.

Ignoring the snickers coming from the couch as well as the throbbing pain in his bladder, he turned away from the bathroom door. Splinter's scoldings were like three cans of Wake Up: they were an excellent motivator, but man did they make you want to pee.

Intent on avoiding any accidents, Raph waddled down to the living area like a duck with a rash and very delicately sat himself on the cushioned bench to wait next to Mikey, who was currently watching a weekend rerun of Crognard the Barbarian.

"Hi, Raph," Mikey said cheerfully, and Raph replied with a simple grunt.

There was something nagging him, something he was supposed to do. But he shrugged it off for later, as he couldn't be the least bit bothered right now. It took him a few moments to register something jabbing into his side. He twisted on the spot, reaching into the space between his side and his belt, and pulled out the offending object to glare at it. The kitten with the oversized head waved at him from the front side of the purse, the words "Hola Gato" embroidered next to it. Something sticky was jutting from the top, and it took him another moment to recognize one of the mochis from the Purple Dragon warehouse, completely smooshed into the purse's zipper, one Chee-Z ball partly absorbed into the confines of its dough like a grotesque representation of a feeding amoeba.

And of course, as soon as Mikey saw it, he let out a squeal of delight and yanked the entire composite from his brother's hands.

Mikey gasped. "Ooh, that's pretty! And it comes with a prize!" He plucked the soft mochi with attached cheese ball and happily tossed it into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah," Raph said with his empty hand still held up in the air. At this point in their lives, he was only mildly disgusted and not all that surprised. "I guess I got this for you."

"Thanks, Raph!" Mikey said, chewing happily, and turned his attention back to the show, purse cradled tenderly in his lap like a treasure. Raph stared blankly at the TV, feeling his stomach twist, because his brain had suddenly kicked into gear, and he finally remembered that part of yesterday that was so important. He would have facepalmed if both his hands weren't busy clutching at his lower abdomen. He had all but forgotten about the whole mutagen thing, right up until he saw Mikey's gift. The need to pee was still extremely distracting, but he had enough brain cells running now to worry that he might not have warned his brothers in time. That mutagen was bound to be long gone now.

 _Dammit… The guys are gonna kill me._

"And where did you get that?"

Raph jumped at the voice, and turned around to see Leo standing right behind them, teacup in hand. When did he get here?

"Jeez, Leo, don't just sneak up on a desperate turtle like that!" Raph squeaked, helplessly pressing his thighs together.

"And what the heck happened to you?" Leo asked, leaning closer.

Raph looked down at himself. His dark skin was mottled with several types of stains, and there were pieces of food and mochi paste stuck into the crevices of his plastron.

"I thought something smelled weirder than usual," Mikey said, apparently only now noticing.

Raph had the fleeting urge to swing at them both, but he just couldn't keep his mind on more than one thing at that time—and that one thing was his throbbing bladder. Turning his attention in the direction of the bathroom, Raph confirmed that the shower was still going. Disaster approached if he didn't do something quick.

"Um, well… I was planning on telling you guys last night, but I kinda… fell asleep." Raph said casually, hedging. Leo just waited. "So here's the thing," Raph continued, voice coming out strained from all the contracting he was doing. "We followed some Purple Dragons to this warehouse and it turns out they have mutagen..."

"What?" Leo exclaimed, and Raph shrunk deeper into himself.

"Just… a few crates…"

"You found mutagen and you just went to bed?"

"I didn't go to bed, not on purpose!" Raph said, wishing he could yell. But in his current state it was just too risky. But he did manage a very angry-sounding groan. "I just kind of… unintentionally… I was exhausted, okay?"

"Why couldn't you just call before, when you found it?" Leo demanded.

"We were running away, and my phone got busted and I really gotta go before my bladder suffers the same fate!" Raph almost begged, sounding like a pinched balloon.

Leo sighed. "Okay, go—" Raph was on his feet before his brother was done talking, "—but make it quick. We'll cover this in the meeting."

"Aw, man, there's a meeting today?" Mikey's voice whined.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raph heard Leo call after him when he didn't head for the bathroom.

"In the sewers," he replied with resignation, hurrying towards the turnstiles in little hopping steps.

"Hey, Raph," another voice said in front of him, and he only barely lifted his head to reply without stopping before rushing down the tunnel.

"Hey, April."

The girl followed him with her gaze until he was out of sight, then turned towards the entrance shrugging the weight of her backpack to a more comfortable position.

"Hi, guys. What's with Raph?" she asked, turnstiles ticking as she passed through.

"Morning, April! Nothing serious. Raph is just dealing with a little schedule conflict," Leo said through a lopsided grin while Mikey laughed.

"Bathroom's occupied, huh?" April said, and Leo nodded. "Donnie still sleeping?"

"Probably."

"He went in his lab last night and he hasn't come out since!" Mikey said in the same dramatic tone of voice that was expected of a horror movie show host—the kind they run late at night.

April played along. "I'll go see what unholy experiments he's concocting, then."

"Oh, and see if you can jump-start him, we're having a meeting in ten minutes," Leo said.

A surprise meeting; something important was going on. "I'll try," she said with a knowing smile.

"Try luring him out with some coffee," Leo suggested, and she gave him a thumb's-up as she made her way towards the kitchen. She was way ahead of him, and after that gratifying breakfast with her dad, she definitely felt up to the challenge. However she had a hunch that just coffee wouldn't cut it today, so she would also add an extra. Once the mug was full with the the murky, indeed almost black elixir, she grabbed a couple of pop-tart baggies and marched towards the lab with the food to the sound of Mikey ominous singing.

"There is gloom and doom while things go boom, in Donnie's la-a-a-ab!"

But she reached the metal doors and signalled for silence, so Mikey shrank into himself, chin beneath the plastron with a naughty smile crinkling his freckled snout.

And when she finally went inside the lab, her first impression was of having found what looked like a beaten up, half plucked giant chicken taking Donnie's place in his chair. Upon a second look, she discovered they weren't feathers at all, but a whole coat of yellow sticky notes, stuck onto Donnie's shell, head and shoulders.

Mikey.

She stifled a guffaw, not wanting to wake him yet, as she approached the desk.

Donnie must have fallen asleep last night right in front of his computer as per usual, one hand over the mouse while the other forearm served as a pillow. Not for the first time April wondered how he could sleep with his neck all twisted like that and still have a functioning spinal cord in the morning. It had to be some kind of mutant super-human ability.

He was snoring softly inside the crook of his arm, his breath ruffling the sticky notes around his brow. She could've stayed like that for hours, watching him sleep so peacefully, mumbling gibberish into his keyboard —or was it… French? Was he mumbling in French?

Even the times they had all lived together, it had been a rare thing to catch him sleeping. It seemed his brain was always in top gear, conjuring equations, categorizing his surroundings, like every idle moment was a moment wasted. He always went to bed last, if at all.

She took a seat on the stool next to him, setting the tray on the table and her backpack on the floor, and gently shook his arm, one of the few manageable places she could reach that was not covered in sticky notes.

"Donnie," she sang.

He moaned reluctantly, and then she heard him sniff and his head sprung upwards out of its hiding place. The pieces of bright yellow paper dangled from the movement.

"I smell coffee," he muttered, sniffing the air like a little blind mole.

"Good morning, Don."

He blinked a couple of times, heavy-lidded, and finally seemed to catch sight of her, a smile rapidly spreading his features.

"Mm-ning, April!" he mumbled hoarsely, stretching, and for a split second April was a little taken aback by the stranger's voice coming out of Donnie's mouth. She had almost forgotten about their little accident in the dojo the day before. Even half asleep he sounded like an action hero. But a couple dozen sticky notes framed his sleepy visage, counteracting any heroic effects of his hoarse throat, and she was unable to contain her laughter.

"That's a good look on ya," she said, plucking one of the papers from his forehead and showing it to him.

"What?" He looked at it with narrowed eyes, then up at his own brow, and when he reached up to the papers stuck there he caught sight of his arm and gave himself a once-over. He whined throatily, "Aww, Mikey! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find blank sticky note packs in the trash?!" he groused towards the lab doors, and his words were met with Mikey's boisterous laughter.

April laughed too, helping him pick papers off his shell. "I can get you dozens, Donnie. They're like a dollar a pound."

"I knew I should've locked the door," he said, trying to recover as many as he could, neatly stacking one on top of the other.

"Do you ever sleep in your bed, Donnie?"

"Hey, I do that more often than anyone thinks." His voice was rough and it caught a bit, and April felt the already familiar pang of guilt.

"How's your voice?" she asked.

His eyebrows quirked as if he hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it, taking one hand to his throat and clearing it.

"Hmm, a little better," he said quickly, and April could practically see him fumbling for a way to reassure her. She smiled, not wanting to worry him.

"Good," she said, and was rewarded by Donnie's own smile. "I brought you breakfast."

April turned on her stool and produced a steaming coffee mug. He made a sound of pure bliss.

"Oh, April… you're an angel," he said, eagerly accepting the mug before taking the first sip and she gave him an ironic chuckle in response. Just the kind of thing Donnie said to her that she usually had a hard time believing, no matter how often or how convincingly he said it, whether it was intentional or something that would occasionally slip. At least he wasn't calling her his "sweet chinchilla" anymore. Not within her earshot, at least...

April let him take a few more avid gulps of his coffee in silence, waiting for it to take effect. Finally he set the mug down with a content sigh, eyes closed. When he opened them, he was a whole different person, straightening on his chair and stretching his numb muscles to wakefulness, all ready for another day's work.

"Let's see," he said, and as he woke up his computer, April took both pop-tart baggies, keeping one to herself and handing the other one out to Donnie, who didn't waste any time unwrapping it. April inwardly sniggered as she saw him go straight for the icing, which he attacked with licks and nibbles before actually sinking his teeth in the pastry.

If she hadn't known the turtles—and Donnie—she would've thought they'd never eaten a bite in their entire lives, judging by the way they sometimes gobbled down food when they were hungry. And Donnie must have been pretty hungry, even with his throat sore like that. April knew he would often forget to eat or drink or take bathroom breaks once he got absorbed into something truly interesting. By the time she was done unwrapping her own piece, he was already half-way through his.

After three bites, April realized she had only grabbed a pop-tart for herself out of gluttony, a subject of social eating. Donnie, on the other hand, was picking up the crumbs from his piece, which was all but gone. He looked like he could eat about four more of them.

"Wanna eat my pop-tart?" she said, and nearly choked. The words had left her mouth before she could get a proper hold of them to stop them from reaching Donnie's ears.

 _Oh, God. That sounded so wrong._

But luckily Donnie seemed to take it a hundred percent literally as he gladly accepted her offering.

"Thanks!"

Inadvertently, April found herself staring. Donnie's thick tongue slid over the icing, ravenous, passionate. Her brow twitched with confusing emotions, and for the first time seeing him do that, she felt the need to look away, heat rising to her cheeks.

"You're welcome," April replied finally with laughter that came out a little nervous, pretending to inspect her nails, or that lose thread dangling from the hem of her shirt, waiting for Donnie to be done. Finally she turned to file through some of the papers that lay scattered around the keyboard, all full of Donnie's scribbles. "So what's this you're working on?"

He took a second to swallow a piece of pop-tart in his mouth —how was most of the pop-tart gone so quickly?—, wincing just a little bit as the lump made its way down, and started saying, "Oh, it's…" but then he gasped, as if he'd just remembered something, and hit himself on the forehead. "Oh! Oh my gosh, April! You're not gonna believe this! I've been dying to tell you!"

But April didn't get to hear it, because Leo had just poked half of his body through the opening in the lab doors.

"Donnie, you up already? It's time," he said, tapping his wrist even though April had never seen him wear a watch—maybe because he couldn't just get one that would fit his wrist.

Oh, right. April had all but forgotten about that mysterious meeting and her mission to retrieve Donnie.

"Oh, uh- coming," Donnie agreed, albeit a little deflated, and Leo nodded before stepping out again.

"So what's this amazing thing you were gonna tell me?" April said when she saw Donnie getting up, hating to miss whatever was making him so excited.

His mouth quirked as though he was debating something in his head.

"I really, really wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you, but I am already explaining it at the meeting. So at the risk of you hearing it twice, I'll just give you a teaser." He paused for two seconds, and shook with contained ardour. Then he said simply, "Time travel."

April's brow creased, honestly a little worried.

"You… invented a time machine?"

"Not exactly," he replied cryptically, downing the rest of the coffee in one loud gulp before getting up, inviting her to follow.

* * *

Donnie exited the lab feeling very content with how the morning was turning out so far. Nothing started off his day like waking up to April's smiling face, and now finally he was going to dazzle her and everybody else with his announcement.

"So," Donnie said with a loud clap as he and April arrived at the group, and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "When do we begin?"

"We're just waiting for Splinter now," Leo said. Everybody was there except sensei, but according to Donnie's calculations and the bathroom schedule, he should be out any minute.

Karai was the first to ask, hands on hips. She was already wearing her training outfit, ready to roll. "So what's this about?"

"Yeah, you guys are being all mysterious, it's freaking me out," Mikey asked, suspicious eyes flickering between his brothers.

"Leo says you got this super exciting news," Raph added, arms crossed in a show of skepticism.

Donnie looked at his brother and blinked. He was just now seeing the state of him: not just sleepy and a little dishevelled, but also as though he'd been rolling around in cookie dough. He had smudges of some mysterious paste all over his body, and Donnie could smell the colorful mixture of sweat and cheese and a myriad of other things clinging to his skin as well. He looked like he needed a shower—or a pressure washer.

"Well, it's difficult to summarize. What happened to you?" he asked, giving Raph a curious look.

Raph shot him the look of a war veteran. "Pull up a chair…"

"Ha-ha, looks like he and Casey had a little too much fun last night, and Casey's still sleeping it off." Mikey elbowed Raph teasingly, earning a glower.

Donnie was grateful that he would know what had really happened in a few minutes so that he didn't have to dwell on the mental images that Mikey's comment provoked.

There was a distant click and the creaking of hinges, and Splinter finally emerged from the bathroom—fresh out of the shower and dressed in his bathrobe, towel hanging from his arm and a soft hairbrush in his claw with a bit of fur between its bristles. Donnie heard Raph give a grunting sigh for some reason.

Splinter halted and looked their way, fur wet and ears straight in suprise. He probably wasn't expecting them there at training hour.

Donnie couldn't help noting—with a hint of hilarity—how even the wet-rat look he was currently sporting did not detract from his elegant, dignified posture—even if it did make him look quite skinnier, and frankly, much less imposing. Donnie made a mental note to check if they were well stocked on Drano.

"What is this?" Splinter asked, looking from face to face. A drop of water fell from one of his whiskers.

"Master Splinter, we have important news," Leo announced, bearing an expression of utmost consequence.

Meanwhile all Donnie could do, eager to tell his tale, was smile as wide as his face would stretch.

"We were just waiting for you, father. These dorks wouldn't say anything until you were here," Karai said cockily.

"Yeah, and I'm dying!" Mikey whined.

In all his impatience, Donnie couldn't deny the satisfaction of building up the tension and witnessing the effects on the others.

April listened patiently by Donnie's side, looking up at him with intrigued eyes, and Splinter lifted his bushy eyebrows in a show of gauged interest.

"Then let us proceed," he said with a gentle wave of his hand, and went to sit on one of the benches.

Most of the others did the same. Only Donnie and Leo remained standing, because Leo liked a good view of things, and because Donnie was eager to begin, already taking a deep breath to start on his discourse.

But then Leo said "Raph goes first," and Donnie's words caught in his throat. He tried not to look disappointed as he stepped aside to wait his turn. He heard a faint snicker at his side and caught April pretending to hide her grin. He shot her a look of mock-annoyance.

Raph came forward, rumbling under Leo's reproachful glare like he was taking the stand in a court of law. Donnie knew that glare, Leo had certainly learned it from Splinter.

Over the next couple of minutes, Raph narrated his escapade with Casey the previous night, and how they had found a little more than they bargained for in that warehouse when they came across a whole new batch of mutagen canisters. Donnie understood the looks Leo had been giving Raph now. The news was met with clamours of shock and dread —as well as a fair amount of foul-mouthed protests.

"Seriously? Again?" April squalled, standing up and throwing her hands in the air.

But for Donnie, the word 'mutagen' wasn't just dire news; it was full of promise, of potential.

"No, you don't understand!" he interceded excitedly, stepping forward, dodging April's flailing arms to address the whole of the group. "This isn't all bad news! If I can retrieve some of that mutagen, I'll finally be able to engineer Timothy's retromutagen, among other things! All the mutants in New York, I could change them back!"

"Yeah, and maybe they have more of these!" Mikey held up the Hola Gato purse, which he'd been wearing on his arm this whole time.

"Actually, I've been trying to ask. How did you get that?" Leo said, pointing at the purse.

"Raph got it for me," Mikey said with bright eyes, leaning to hug his aforementioned brother, something Donnie wouldn't have risked in Raph's present condition. But Raph dodged Mikey's arms looking annoyed.

"I took it from the warehouse. The place was full of crap like this," he said.

Leo crossed his arms, and Raph once again boiled under the heat of his judgemental gaze.

"What? It was just one shitty plastic purse! It's like stealing can rings! I barely even realized I'd taken it!" he protested.

Donnie wasn't paying the purse much mind, really; he had something else to be angry about.

"Wait, so you had time to grab this stupid Gato bag, but you couldn't think to get me some mutagen?" he said, raising his voice right up to where it started to hurt his aching vocal chords. Raph knew how important this was!

"Well, where was I supposed to stash the canister, Donnie? I was running away from Hun and his gang while carrying Casey on my back!" Raph cried angrily in Donnie's direction and pointed a thumb at his own shell. "This ain't a knapsack!"

And of course it was too much to ask that they'd make it a top priority to get the loot back intact, no matter how badly Donnie needed it.

"First things first, Donnie," Leo told him when he'd suggested it. "As long as that mutagen is in the hands of Hun, it's bad news only. If it comes down to it, we will destroy it before letting them use it. Once it's safe, you can have your fill of it."

Splinter stepped up from the sidelines to speak up. Leo had been leading the meetings lately, Donnie supposed as a form of training. During meetings, Splinter only listened and would occasionaly speak when needed—or to express his disagreement.

"Leonardo is right, my son. We cannot take any risks," he told Donnie, calm but firm. There would no more arguing on the matter. And despite his persistence, Donnie knew deep down that it was the right call. He ended up agreeing like the rest of them, if only a little disgruntled. If he'd learned something, it was that when dealing with mutagen, any slip-up could be disastrous, and it was crucial that it didn't remain in the wrong hands—even if this could be their last chance to get some themselves. And who knew if they would still find it in that warehouse. The ideal thing would have been to have gone as soon as Raph and Casey saw it, before the Purple Dragons even had time to move it somewhere else.

But no use crying over spilt milk...

After a short discussion, it was agreed that they would go find it as soon as they were done here, search the entire city if they had to, starting with the warehouse. And with that matter closed, it was Donnie's turn to shine, finally.

Already in a much better mood, Donnie gave them the summed-up version, doing his best to use short terms and lots of analogies. There were two people he was minding especially for their reactions; April—because obviously, and because he loved seeing her blue eyes sparkle in awe like that—, and Karai.

Donnie and Leo had both agreed beforehand to omit future Donatello's comment on Karai. _Tell Karai not to go anywhere_ , he had said, which hardly counted as a warning. They couldn't know if it really was important or not, and if the only thing they'd have to watch out for was that Karai was there when the future turtles arrived, then so far there were no signs of a problem. She hadn't said much—unlike April, whose excitement had Donnie's core bubbling—, but then that was Karai's thing; during meetings she would sit quietly while her peers argued, observing, and she would rarely give an opinion. Donnie often wondered if maybe she didn't think it was her place. After all, she had only been with them for a few months.

But until there was a sign of trouble, right now, telling everybody what Future Donatello had said would mean putting Karai on the spotlight for no real reason. It would mean everybody would get nervous and want to know more, and neither he nor Leo would have an answer. So for now they would keep a close eye on her, just in case, and save her the unwanted attention.

Everything else —the wormhole, the future turtles coming over, that Chinese pendant they would have to watch out for and that no one seemed to know anything about—Donnie included in his exposition.

"This has got to be some kind of a prank, right?" Raph said even after all of Donnie's explanations. He'd been annoying the hell out of Donnie all throughout with his noises of skepticism.

"It's not a prank! I've talked to him. I _know,_ " Donnie insisted.

"How do you know? It could be Rockwell messing with you or something, or someone worse."

"It's not Rockwell, and it can't be anyone else! Donatello—the other Donatello—sent me the blueprints for a portal, and they definitely have my hallmarks. They're in my lab, I can show you!"

Raph scoffed. "I don't know blueprints."

"You don't have to believe me, Raph," Donnie said, pointedly turning his shell to him. "You just have to wait and see."

"Guys, I think this might be the real deal," Leo added seriously, which seemed to be exactly what this conversation needed. And all it took was Leo's good word for it—and maybe Splinter's silence meaning he agreed. It worked for Donnie, and he offered Leo a glance as thanks.

Now that their audience was caught up, and that they were past the first wave of suspicion and huffs of incredulity, Raph's mutagen news quickly became the smallest of potatoes.

"So you're telling me… that we are going to meet ourselves… from the future?" Mikey squeaked. "Uh, won't that mess with time, or whatever?"

"There's a movie on that, right?" Karai laughed ironically. First words she had said since they started.

"No, see, it's a lot more complex than that," Donnie began to explain. "It ultimately proves the multiverse—or meta-universe—hypothesis, something which scientists and philosophers alike have theorized. It stipulates that there's an infinite number of possible—"

"Whoa, whoa, with the science!" Mikey cut him off. "All I need to know is that the universe won't explode or something. It won't, right?"

Donnie sighed. "No."

"You're positive."

"Yes."

"Awesome! When are they coming?" Mikey cried.

"Actually, I don't know," Donnie admitted with a shrug. "Soon, I think."

"What do they want?" April asked.

"I don't know, they weren't all that specific. I don't even know how many of them will come."

"There sure is a lot you don't know," Raph said haughtily.

"I'm certain they have their reasons," Donnie protested defensively. "And besides, we haven't had more than a few minutes to talk anyway."

"I can't be the only one that's a little freaked out by this, right?" Raph continued. "Like there's gotta be a catch. This has got to have some kind of… karmic consequence of some kind."

Speaking of consequences and things they didn't know, Donnie shot Karai a sideways glance. She was sitting, lounging, one leg crossed over the other. She seemed… fine. Perfectly at ease with everything. Whether it was because she didn't believe a word or she thought herself above seeing anything special about the whole ordeal, Donnie couldn't tell. But at least she didn't seem about to run off like future Donatello's comment had almost made them believe.

"What do you think, Karai?" he asked her in a casual tone, a nudge.

Donnie caught Leo turning to stare quite conspicuously, and Karai's eyebrows shot up, apparently surprised by the sudden attention. She pursed her lips and said squarely, "I think karma's bullshit."

"I agree," Donnie said happily, while Splinter gave the tactless remark a very slow blink.

"I must say this troubles me, Donatello," their sensei said suddenly, and Donnie went mute.

Ooh, here we go, he thought, already trying to come up with a better way of selling his project to his father.

Splinter went on calmly, "It is as Raphael said—more or less. It might not be wise to tinker with the natural order of the universe."

Donnie inwardly shrugged off the idea. He knew for a fact that the universe could take a lot more punishment than people gave it credit for. However he was afraid Splinter would forbid him from pursuing this further. His father had maintained an interested but cautious attitude on his part up until now.

But even if Splinter ordered him to let it go and forget about it, he would not be able to simply obey and sit still while the most incredible thing he had undertaken slipped from his fingers. He couldn't! There was a line of how far Donnie would go to honor his father's opinions, and it was drawn right here.

But Master Splinter stroked his beard, and Donnie was surprised to see mischief twinkling in his eyes as he said, "However I will admit, I am… curious. If it is true this might be a most enlightening experience. When are you going to know more?"

Donnie stared for a couple of seconds at his sensei's keen face before replying, "Uh, well, they're going to contact me again in a couple of days. You guys can all watch."

"Woah, will it be a videochat?"

"I doubt it, Mikey."

Several bodies deflated around them with a simultaneous "aw".

"So we're just gonna watch you type? Forget that," Mikey said.

"That's like saying you won't read a book because it doesn't have any pictures!"

"What's your point?"

"What's- you know what? Nevermind. I've had this conversation with you before and I've always regretted it," Donnie said cooly. Mikey pouted, but didn't retort. "Anyway! I for one can't wait to get started on the portal!"

"Ooh, need some help?" April offered, enthusiastic.

"Sure! I can always use the extra set of hands." Needless to say, Donnie was ecstatic. It wasn't just the portal now that was waiting for him; April would be there too.

However, as exciting as Donnie's news was for everybody—and as much as they all wanted to know everything there was to know about their future counterparts—Splinter once again rained on their parade by playing the voice of their collective conscience. He stood, looking ready to take charge once again, and that was enough to immerse the group into an attentive silence.

"My children, I know this is all very exciting, but there is still another more pressing matter at hand that should not be put aside even for this. That mutagen needs our immediate attention." And in his commanding voice he said, "No training today. Do what you must to find that mutagen. But be cautious."

"Hai, sensei," they all said in unison.

So it was settled. They were heading out right away even if it was the middle of the day. Once they got Casey to pick up his phone, they asked him to chauffeur the team in the van to the warehouse, to have a look.

"You know the docks are probably going to be too busy at this hour, right?" Donnie said, still a little frustrated about not being able to get to work on his project right away.

Leo hung up his T-phone and shrugged. "We have to try."

"And what about the portal?" Donnie insisted. " I need to make sure it's finished by Tuesday!"

Leo gave it a moment's thought.

"Alright, you two can stay here then," he said, and Donnie smiled when he saw him point at April too, performing a little fist bump of victory in his head. He felt a special kind of gratitude towards Leo for taking April's expressed interest in working on the portal into account.

"Can I stay and help Donnie too?" Mikey exclaimed hopefully.

Thankfully Leo also knew as well as Donnie the dangers of letting Mikey near his experiments. "No," he said curtly. "The rest of us are going to check out that warehouse. If that doesn't work, we'll try again tonight."

Another scavenger hunt for mutagen, Donnie thought, flashes of hideous mutant atrocities coming back to him. Just like old times.

Donnie sighed to himself, making a note to dust off his old mutagen tracker, already certain this first expedition would turn fruitless. Even the Purple Dragons weren't stupid enough to leave such precious cargo where they knew someone would come looking again. There was no way this was going to be that easy.

Everyone seemed just as disappointed they had to go in such a hurry that they couldn't bury Donnie in an avalanche of inquiries—which partly was a good thing, considering Donnie didn't really know all that much.

"So, April. Shall we get started?" he said, waving a tentative hand towards the lab.

"Yes!" she agreed with a little hop and they both got moving.

Even in the midst of terrible danger, Donnie's heart was buzzing like a hummingbird, because if it wasn't thrilling enough that he got to unravel the blueprints of an interdimensional portal sent to him by his future self, on top of that he would be doing it with April. He'd been crossing his fingers all morning that she'd have time to stay a while, so when she confirmed that she would be there all day, he had to repress the urge to dance his way to the lab, reminding himself that April was looking.

Behind them, everybody else was shuffling about getting ready to head out, Leo issuing out instructions as the rest set out to follow them. "Gear up, guys. We're meeting Casey in half an hour. And Raph? You are not setting foot in the van until you take a shower."

* * *

 **Remember: reviews are writer chow! :DDD**

 **Thanks so much guys! 3**


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter gonna be a treat for all you Apriltello nerds! Enjoy! *squee***

 **And of course huge thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex, we owe them a lot.**

* * *

The lair was as quiet as Donnie had ever known it—a luxury for someone living in a home full of belligerent brothers. He could hear the faint murmur of traffic overhead and the sound of dripping water out in the tunnels. With the team gone to check on that warehouse, the absence of chatter and activity—and too often the cacophony of yelling and throwing of things—was almost eerie. It was perfect. Besides, Splinter had retired to meditate in his room, so he and April were pretty much all to themselves.

Having April at his side was as inspiring as working to his favorite song. They made the best lab team, and had worked together for so long that April's able hands and alert mind were like an extension of his own. He had been proud to learn that she was way ahead of the rest of her science class thanks to working together, as he had never missed a chance to teach her everything her avid mind was willing to take.

Looking back, Donnie had no idea how he'd remained sane for so many years without her, without someone to nerd-out with about science. He loved his family more than anything, but his brothers and father wouldn't touch a scientific subject with a six foot staff. He couldn't really believe it when April first started showing actual interest in what he had to say. If there was something she didn't understand, she didn't ask him to "dumb it down" for her. She asked for an explanation. She yearned to understand.

And yes, it was true April had caught his eye from the first second he had serendipitously spotted her in his peripheral vision, and he had felt irrevocably drawn to her; the stunning orange hair over pale freckled skin, blue eyes bright, attentive, and so intrepid. That first image of her was forever imprinted on his mind. He thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, walking the street with her head straight like a beacon in the mist, ready to take on the whole world by storm. And he'd gotten his share of mockery for saying it out loud... But it didn't matter what anyone said, because in the end, he knew all that beauty would not have amounted to anything if a minute later he'd found out she was dumb as a rock.

But that wasn't what happened.

Anyone could have a crush. The first time he had dropped a fun fact and she did not flinch away or roll her eyes, but actually carried the subject further, was the moment he fell in love; the moment he realized this girl—this beautiful, brave, human girl—was also the closest thing to an intellectual equal he had ever known, taking into account his usual company.

So having her here now, after what had felt like forever since they'd hung out, or even talked… He felt as though a little piece of the sun was sitting next to him at the lab desk—in the poetic sense, of course; actually having a piece of the sun near would burn him to a crisp in mere seconds, he thought to himself, and tried to come up with a more accurate analogy. _April, you're the terrarium heat lamp that lights my days._ Not quite as romantic...

Anyway, it felt even better than all that when he noticed her mood had improved greatly from the previous day. He absently caressed his own throat as he thought back to their last training exercise.

The entire school year had been a bit difficult on her, but these past few weeks had been particularly haywire. She had been scurrying away everyday with some justification or other, only dropping by for weekend training. Donnie had indeed noticed the missing warmth in his big empty lab, his only company being Timothy's blank, immobile stare, still frozen in his jar waiting for the retromutagen that Donnie had promised him so long ago.

There were still shadows under April's eyes that the light makeup couldn't quite conceal, but her demeanor was more relaxed, much livelier as she ranted on fervently about how much she hated the Kraang.

"Mutagen. _Again_. Are we never gonna get rid of the stuff? I swear if I see another Kraang I'm going to personally cram their own skulls up their butt."

"I don't think they even have butts," Donnie said thoughtfully, and set the old Kraang portable portal on the bench. Good thing he had kept it. Obviously Future Donatello already knew he would have it, and it was the main ingredient in the detailed recipe he had provided. "In fact, based on their physiology," he went on, "my first guess would be that they have a two-way digestive system."

April's nose wrinkled in a disgusted grimace.

"Then I'll cram it in the first hole I find," she continued gloomily, a snarl forming as though she were envisioning the moment of her retribution.

"Can you light the blowtorch, please? And get the chisels?" Donnie said methodically while propping the device between the clamps and tightening the grip, holding it firmly in place. He heard April rummage through some drawers, and a moment later she was beside him.

"Here you go," she said, her voice back to a sweeter tone.

"Thanks. Gloves." Donnie put on his pair and waited for April's confirmation.

"Check."

"Goggles?"

April adjusted hers and struck a pose like a model in a sunglasses commercial. "You know it."

"Awesome," he said, giving her a gloved thumbs up. "Let's hope this does it. Do you want the honors?"

April eagerly accepted the challenge. She sat on the stool, facing her objective and aiming the blowtorch fire at a seam in the metal casing where Donnie had indicated, and they waited. The alien alloy was tough, so it took a few minutes for the metal to acquire the desired glow, but April did a good job of keeping it steady.

"Alright, take your chisel," he said when the glow became white, and took the blowtorch from her to set it down at a safe distance. "Try to break through this part of the seam here."

When April had managed to get the tip of the chisel wedged between the two halves, Donnie took his own chisel and aimed it at a point further down the seam, tapping the back of the tool softly with the hammer.

"Hold there. Hold…"

 _Snap_. The top half of the casing came off cleanly, and they both gave a cry of celebration.

The insides of the device were already familiar to Donnie, from deactivating Kraang bombs and bypassing security systems many a time in the past. Mikey would probably have a better hand with it than he could ever have—somehow—but the instructions on the blueprints should make it easy enough.

Heaving a sigh of satisfaction, Donnie took off his protective goggles and his gloves and watched his assistant do the same.

"Alright, first step: check! Thanks for the help, April. I'm glad you could come by today," he said then, which was a bit of an understatement.

"Me too, believe me," she sighed, and for a second there, she looked absolutely exhausted again. Thankfully the look was gone as quickly as it had come. "Oh, and my dad says hi back," she added.

"Cool! Tell him hi back… back." _Smooth_. He moved on quickly, trying to outrun any potential reactions, and took April's five-fingered gloves and the goggles from her to put them away in the drawer next to his. "How is he?"

"He was in a good mood this morning," April said, and Donnie was pleased to see a smile on her face—which, as a bonus, always made her twice as pretty.

So _that's_ what it was, then. Not surprising; April was always worrying about her dad. It wouldn't be the first time April avoided him and his brothers for his sake. Donnie was no psychic, but it was more than obvious that anything having to do with Kirby, good or bad, she would soak up like a sponge. Kirby being in a good mood meant April was too.

"Really? That's great! And you finally found some leisure time," he probed wishfully, but April's mouth screwed into a slight grimace, already contradicting him before she even said anything.

"Eh. I wouldn't call it that. I actually brought homework." She pointed her thumb at the backpack lying on the corner by the garage door. "But it seems so trivial now with what's cooking here, I mean… Holy shit, Donnie, the _future_?" she exclaimed suddenly.

Donnie couldn't help himself. He _squeaked_ , "I know, right!" and he didn't even care that his throat hurt, nor about sounding the least bit manly.

"And you got to talk to your future self! That must have been unreal!"

"My hands are still shaking!" he said, tittering. They were now face to face, April beaming and bouncing on her heels, and he realized she was only mirroring him. There really was nothing like being able to share such a thing with April and seeing her as excited as he felt.

She slid over to the workbench then with eager eyes.

"So this is what had you losing sleep these days," she said, peering curiously over some of the printed out blueprints on the desk, full of notes and scribbles, that he had been revising overnight.

Donnie shrugged, half dismissively, half apologetically, something that had become somewhat of a reflex every time someone mentioned his messed-up sleeping rhythm. "I just couldn't leave it! I was too hyper to sleep anyway."

"Being the son of Splinter, you'd think you'd have a better hang of turning off your  
brain once in awhile."

Donnie stopped tidying up the mess to face April, quickly formulating a well devised reply. He tilted his head slightly in mock confusion.

"Why would I want to turn off my brain?"

April seemed taken aback by the question, eyebrows quirking as she responded sarcastically, "Um… to rest?"

Donnie blew a righteous huff of air. "Even when asleep, the brain is _never_ off. If it's off, it's because you're _dead_ —or, at the very least, severely brain-damaged.

April swat his shoulder, voice rising in pitch and volume. "You know what I meant! Why do you have to do that all the time?" she spat, arms crossed, but Donnie could see the start of a smile in that little quiver of her lips.

"Hey, I like to be accurate," he insisted haughtily, and turned to point a stern finger at April. "And I expect the same kind of precision from my lab apprentice!"

April's face scrunched into a tight pout, and she crossed her arms in a stubborn gesture."Yes, Master,"

"That's better," Donnie said, using his best maestro voice, even though he could barely keep a straight face anymore. "Now be a good lackey and fetch me my magnifying goggles."

She whipped her head rebelliously, but swivelled around and ambled off. "Just wait until the lackey union hears about this," she said into the closet loud enough for him to hear, and he answered without taking his eyes off his notes.

"Evil lackeys don't have _unions_."

Donnie heard the rustling and clanking of gadgets, and when he turned to look she was already coming back with purpose in her eyes, magnifying goggles in stock.

"Then I'm starting my _own_ evil union."

"I think by definition you'd need more than one person for that, but since it's the thought that counts, then you shall suffer the full extent of the wrath of evil Dr. Hamato all the same," he countered smugly, with the lofty confidence of a despot and taking full advantage of his new voice.

April strutted up to him the last couple of steps, eyes narrowed and smile crooked.

"I wonder if Future Donatello is still this much of a dork…" she quipped and defiantly smacked the goggles into Donnie's waiting hand.

He in turn adopted a look of utter indignation. "I wonder if Future April is this much of a sassmouth," he retorted primly, one fist on his hip. With the other hand, he slipped on the goggles over his straight face with an overstated flourish.

Laughter had started to build, but then April's gaze got lost and they stood quietly for a beat, Donnie wondering what was going through her mind, as usual.

"You think we'll find out?" she asked at length, and there was an air of thrill to her demeanor. "Think we'll get to meet all our future selves?"

"Honestly, who knows? Kinda scary, though, when you think too much about it," Donnie confessed, something that had been bugging him in the back of his head since the previous night. He was, after all, an expert in overthinking.

April insisted, "So they really didn't mention me at all…?"

"No," he replied truthfully. "They barely said anything, really, they're kinda mysterious like that. The only ones I talked to are Mikey and myself, and someone else seemed to be there, but I don't know who… For all we _really_ know, Mikey and I could be New York's only survivors," he joked, but laughter died in his chest before it had a chance to form.

Being reminded about the last conversation with Future Donatello, if it could even qualify as such, sent a shiver trickling up his spine; the disquieting secrecy, the warning about that mysterious pendant, the mention of Karai... As he tried not to think about all the things that can go wrong in the span of ten years, he realized he had trailed off into an unsettled silence.

But to his relief, April didn't look so much worried as curious. "So, uh, did you happen to keep those conversations?" she asked, gracefully saving him the task of coming up with an elegant way out. He realized he had his goggles on, and he pushed them up over his forehead, knowing the magnifying lenses were none too flattering.

"Yeah."

"Can I read them?"

"Sure!" Donnie said kindly, stepping over to his computer to browse for the text file, but only showed her the first conversation just as he and Leo had agreed. There was no need for anyone else to worry about Karai right now.

"There you go."

April sat down in Donnie's wheeled office chair and he made to continue taking the portal apart while she read. He slid his magnifying goggles back on and got to work picking out the various parts and orderly setting them aside.

"Ship of the Imagination," she said softly after a bit, and cast an amused glance at him. Donnie shrugged sheepishly, and she went back to reading, her eyes so close to the monitor now that he almost felt the need to give her a pamphlet on proper computer desk posture.

A couple minutes later, as he was disassembling a few circuits he heard the chair creak. April was against the backrest, regarding the screen with an incredulous smirk.

"Oh, my God," she said, huffing. "I'm not sure I would have believed him."

Donnie laughed. "Oh, I had my doubts too, right up until I took a look at these." He pulled his goggles up to rest on his head and picked up a couple of papers from the desk, flicking them in the air. He put them back down to stare in awe, contrasting the blueprints' designs with the Kraang device. The apparatus lay open and gutted like a fresh kill on the workbench. April rolled herself over on the chair and leaned forward to scrutinize the mess.

"Just look. You see these crystals?" He pointed a forefinger at the geometric looking objects of sharp edges and a deep violet tint. April watched, a little wrinkle of concentration forming on her brow. "They're the main component of the portal, they are what refracts the very fabric of space-time, curving it, like… like light through a glass prism. Remarkable." Donnie took a long moment to marvel at the ingenuity of the device. Such a complex concept, yet such a simple, elegant design. "You gotta hand it to those Kraang, they really are lightyears ahead."

April's mouth became an obstinate straight line. "Yeah, well, I still hate them."

"Oh, sure," Donnie conceded distractedly. "And Future Donatello… He managed to reverse engineer this piece of complex alien technology and modify it to suit his needs. I mean, I've had my fair share of encounters with Kraang technology, and those were complicated enough, but this… It's not just that he managed to find _us_ —this one teeny tiny peephole roaming around across the universe, that would lead him to our specific time and place, it's— You know wormholes haven't even been proven by modern human science, right? And these notes…" Donnie grasped for the stool and pulled it over without looking, to sit next to April. "I barely even have to think; it looks like Future Donatello has done that for me. All _I_ have to do is repurpose a few circuits, build a couple of new components and the wormhole will do the rest. This thing will even run on the energy emitted by the hole _itself_ , which is _genius_ because it means skipping the hassle of finding a proper power source!"

"That's green energy right there," April contributed.

"Yes! And, and Future Donatello, man, he must have been working on this for _months_ , nonstop, probably built a program for that sole purpose, and probably hacked into some observatory to use their super telescopes—that's what I would do, at least, if I had to find this, this needle in a haystack—or like in all the haystacks in all the state of, I dunno, Texas..."

"That does sound like Donatello…" April said, and he lifted his eyes at the sneer in her voice to see her bemused grimace.

He was only now realizing how out of breath he was from all that talking, and he chuckled, flustered. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"Yeah, you are," she agreed, nodding around her little lopsided smirk. "But don't worry, it's completely justified."

Donnie suppressed a sigh, and instead managed to smile to himself, taking comfort in April's proximity, and her look of interest as she examined the papers upon papers scattered across the bench, even though she probably couldn't understand but a fraction of it. Her face when she was concentrated —the little wrinkle in her brow, the slight pucker in her lips. Even to this day, he would often catch himself unintentionally staring when all was quiet between them, and he averted his eyes when he realized that's exactly what he was doing right now.

Still, she needed to know—and he needed to say it. He took a deep breath and hoped his voice wouldn't betray him.

"You know, you must be the only person who will sit through my science ramblings and not act like they're being tortured," he said softly, his voice cutting through the silence and she laughed, a tilt of her head that could very well translate into pity.

"Well, my dad's a scientist too, right? I pretty much grew up with his science ramblings. Brings back good memories."

Donnie carefully gauged her expression as she leaned to get a closer look of the portal, a gentle smile on her lips as if the thought made her happy. A bubbly warmth spread through Donnie's middle. "Really?"

"Yeah. Besides, it can be pretty educational."

 _I love you_ , thought Donnie, stopping himself just in time from saying it out loud, and praying her psychic powers hadn't suddenly evolved telepathic abilities.

This is what he was talking about; she _got_ him. He wished he could tell her how much that meant to him.

"Future Donatello sounds pretty cool," April commented thoughtfully, twisting to look over at the computer screen where the text was still displayed, and Donnie felt a new wave of tickles in his stomach.

"Do I? _He_? Does _he_?" he stammered. _It would appear the English language isn't made for time travel_ , he thought, and April seemed to agree, with a somewhat less pathetic imitation of his jabberings.

"Yeah, can't wait to meet him—or you, or whatever," she said, laughing, and Donnie saw it: a flash of purple among orange as she turned back to the table. A few strands were coming loose from her yellow hairband, and now he couldn't look away. He decided to brave it.

"Hey, I didn't get the chance to mention it yesterday; you colored your hair," he said quietly with an air of nonchalance.

"Oh! Yeah, it's just a streak."

Donnie watched, entranced, as she gracefully tucked the strand behind her ear. She was smiling, eyes intent on the blueprints—but fixed, so _not reading_. Interesting...

"I like it," he said timidly, his brain working to find meaning to all the little signs. "I wanna say regalia?"

April tapped her nose.

"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "It's one of my favorite shades of purple. Fun fact: according to color theory, yellow and orange are what you'd call split complementaries of purple. That's why they work so well together."

She turned towards him again, slowly, as he finally heard himself saying those words and desperately tried to make amends.

"Uh, of course, by that I mean your streak."

"Mm-hm." She nodded, one eyebrow raised.

"That it looks good with your shirt and your hair," he specified. Just in case.

"Orange and purple do make a great team."

Donnie would not have been able to take his eyes off her if the ceiling caved down on them, as he felt her small hand patting his forearm and his skin became ablaze with the heat of a thousand stars.

That goodnight hug in the alley near Murakami's came rushing back to mind. The sensations washed over him, cramming his imagination full of whys and what-ifs, and once again Donnie found himself wondering. Hoping. And he didn't want to hope.

"You know, maybe I should get out my homework."

Donnie started a little, April's movement leaning away from the table yanking his thoughts back to the present. He winced to himself when he realized he had just been _standing_ there like an idiot, gawking at her and barely breathing. But what else was new, right?

"Yes! Of course, homework's important. Don't worry about this, I can manage on my own for a while," he said hurriedly, motioning at his table packed full of papers and pieces of Kraang tech and resisting the urge to bonk his head against it. She had been so enthusiastic to participate at first, and he had to go and screw it up by making it awkward.

"Oh, but I'll be right here though," April said, and patted the wooden surface next to the portal. "I said I'd help, right? So just say the word and I'll give you a hand with whatever, okay?"

He agreed with a smile, feeling mildly relieved. "Will do."

And then there was something, a strange pause in which April just looked at him, her hand on the chair's rest. He thought he saw her lips twitch before she suddenly turned around and headed for the corner where her backpack lay. It had been quick, so much that Donnie couldn't even be sure that anything had happened at all.

He was no expert on reading people—machines and facts were his thing—but April proved to be most challenging sometimes. _Is she uncomfortable?_ he wondered with a pinch of panic, peeking from the corner of his eyes while gathering a couple of chips and other components for the next phase. _She must be feeling uncomfortable, especially if she can feel… if she can sense…_

While Donnie urged himself to focus on his work, April returned with her backpack and set up shop at the other end of the table, spreading her textbooks and sheets across the wooden surface. When she didn't sit to work, Donnie lifted his eyes from his task to see her standing with her hands on her hips.

"I think I'll go get me some coffee," she said, looking over her homework as though preparing for a long hike up a mountain, and clearly not too excited about the prospect.

That's when the sound of an engine coming closer tore them both from their current preoccupations. Two seconds later a set of tires screeched to a halt at the other side of the garage door, announcing the team's early arrival. Donnie exchanged a look with April— _sounds like mission failure_ —as a group of voices and footsteps made its way through the lair.

"I'll go ask what's up while I'm on it," April offered, and her smile helped loosen the nervous knot that had formed in his gut. "I know you just had breakfast, but do you want some coffee?"

"You know I can never say no to coffee," Donnie said, grateful.

She nodded, and was off.

He turned covertly to watch her go, still wondering. Still wishing.

 _Don't do that. Don't daydream,_ he told himself as he forced his mind to focus on his project.

* * *

In retrospect, April should've probably stayed at home if she really wanted to finish her homework anytime soon. But how was she supposed to know today would get so interesting?

She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh of content as she climbed down the steps to the common room. Nothing kept the blues at bay like feeling useful, and that was never a question with Donnie. She could still feel him—his candid, somewhat withheld attention for her, a warm tingle originating behind her eyes, radiating down her neck to fill her chest. It was a familiar feeling, one that had disturbed her at first because she could neither understand nor return it. But now it felt good. It made her feel like she mattered.

Usually she kept her psychic abilities on a leash, as she was still learning to control them. Not to mention, however useful they proved at times, they still reminded her of what she was. And frankly she wasn't sure it was completely ethical, peeking into people's minds like that. But sometimes, just to try, she would set those abilities lose, and let them run through the field, and they would pick up the most curious sensations for her. Today she had done this, and aside from the already established adoration emanating from her friend to her, she had also found herself waist deep in a refreshing pool of scientific zeal. It was the feeling of Donnie's mind when he was at his best, immersed in some particularly exciting new project. She liked being near when that happened.

She was so glad she decided to come, she had almost forgotten about her fight with her father, or the reason behind it — _almost_ , she thought, remembering that brief moment in the lab when she suddenly wanted to… Well, even she didn't know _what_ she would have done or said, but it didn't matter anyway. Just a minor lapse.

Still it never ceased to amaze her, how much better she felt the second she walked past the turnstiles to join her strange family, where she could be her strange self and nobody would ever judge her for it. At least when she was here, she could stop pretending. She tried to hold on to this feeling, wishing she could fasten it tight around herself so it would never go away.

On her way to the kitchen she crossed paths with Leo, who seemed to be just back from parking the Party Wagon. The others must have already been through there. Mikey's muffled singing in the distance confirmed it.

"You guys back already? Any luck?" she asked Leo.

"Nothing. The docks were too busy, we couldn't go in," he replied like that had been exactly what he had expected. "No Purple Dragons either, though. We'll just have to try again after dark."

April nodded, then Leo continued towards the dojo, no doubt to inform Splinter, and she headed for the kitchen.

The fridge door closed just as April stepped through the drapes and Karai spun around to look at her holding a can with Japanese print on it.

"Hey there, princess," she sang.

April shot Karai a jaded look, but smiled, already so very used to her teasing.

"Hello, Karai," she said with overstressed formality, walking past her to the coffee maker atop the counter. "Leo says you had no luck."

Karai did a vain little roll with her shoulders. "I already knew it was going to be a waste of time, but I needed some fresh air."

"What are you drinking?"

"Wasabi soda," Karai replied, pulling the tab, and the can opened with a hiss. "It's imported. I got it from Murakami. Guy was really cool about it, I can never find these anywhere. Wanna try some?"

"Wasabi soda?" April's nose crinkled with uncertainty, detecting a faint smell of the stuff. "Uhh… Maybe next time, Karai. Right now I think I'd rather keep my stomach lining. But thanks!"

As she poured the ground coffee into the filter, she could see Karai taking one step towards the exit, about to leave. Then, Karai stopped and sat on one of the stools instead, and said conversationally, "So you and Donnie are working on that portal thing, huh? Pretty exciting."

"Yeah, you should see the stuff Donnie showed me. It's amazing!"

"Not really my thing, science. I'll leave that to you two nerds."

"I thought you'd know better than to mock the nerds," April joked as she filled the machine with water and turned it on, but inside she was waiting for Karai's next move which was sure to come. She could sense it—the sword's shadow before it struck. When April turned, there was the tiniest twinkle in Karai's eyes, before she tipped the can to take a sip, that had _nothing_ to do with the current small talk.

April went to the cabinet and took out two mugs, then went for the sugar, keeping herself busy—until Karai set the can on the table with a sound like a starting pistol and leaned forward like a jockey. "So while I was working on my new armor in Donnie's lab the other day, he and I were talking…"

 _Uh-oh, there it is. Where are you going with this?_ April thought as she turned to face Karai.

"He told me about that music box he made you."

April blanched. The music box… That was certainly something she hadn't thought about in some time. In fact, she tried not to, mainly to avoid the feelings of shame and the horrible, gut twisting guilt.

"Oh. He did, huh?" she said, hoping to sound like the proud owner of said music box, and she leaned back on the counter trying not to give herself away. Karai's tone was _too_ friendly...

"Yeah, it sounded nice. I'd love to see it. You still have it?"

"Uh, sure. It's at home," April lied quickly. "But I'd rather not move it, you know. It's a bit big and kinda delicate."

The lie was propped on a scaffolding made of toothpicks and glue. If Karai decided that she wanted to see the music box, then April was all but screwed.

Just as she feared, Karai's lips started twisting into a wicked smile and April gulped, her mouth suddenly very dry.

"Save it, April," Karai said at last through her smug grin. "I know you don't have it."

"What? What do you mean?" April said, hopelessly holding on to her brittle lie even when she knew it was a losing game. Because this was Karai, and Karai liked to play, and she could just be making everything up so April would spill.

But then Karai said, "Donnie has it. It was in his closet," and April frowned in thought, because she hadn't expected _that_. Karai's voice had sounded almost sweet before she took another sip of her drink, eyes peering at April over the can.

"He- He has it? How-?" April said, unable to hide her bewilderment.

That was not true, it couldn't be. It had to be one of Karai's little games, and April chastised herself when she realized she had fallen right into her trap, admitting to the crime before even knowing what she was being charged with. If that was it, she had no idea what Karai could ever hope to achieve with a cruel joke such as this. Donnie didn't have it. That music box was lost, back at the farmhouse. Wasn't it?

"Well, he says you didn't want it and he took it back," Karai started to say and April gaped in disbelief, "but knowing you two, I had a hunch it might have been some kind of misunderstanding, so I thought I'd play you for a bit and find out. You guys are too cute, seriously... "

It took April a moment to notice the sound of the coffee brewing at her back. She turned to make sure the pot was in place, taking the opportunity to collect herself, and her heart skipped a beat when she realized what this meant. If what Karai said was true, then… _Oh, man._

"I knew that had to be it," Karai said merrily behind her, and April could hear the smirk in her voice. "You thought you had lost Donnie's gift, didn't you? And now it's totally a romantic comedy!"

The burn of embarrassment rose in April's throat, spreading through her cheeks like wildfire. She turned back to Karai and cast her a demanding glare.

"How do _you_ know about this?"

Karai shrugged one shoulder, obviously completely at ease with everything, soda can dangling loosely from one hand.

"It wasn't so much that Donnie told me about it and more like I accidentally found it in his closet. You should've seen his face, poor guy," she chuckled, and the sound sent a fleeting jolt of anger through April. "Anyway, I put two and two together. You didn't seem the type to just reject something like that."

"I _didn't_ reject it. Well… not exactly... I mean, the music box was a bit much…" April confessed, and she couldn't help cringing at the memory of that day. _So_ awkward...

"Yeah, that's what I told him," Karai laughed, but April didn't care anymore that Karai couldn't hold a conversation without making a joke out of everything. All her thoughts were on Donatello now, her heart shrivelling as she imagined what this must have meant to him.

"Oh, no… Poor Donnie…" April sunk into one of the stools and covered her eyes. "All this time I thought I'd lost it, and it turns out he'd just taken it back. He must've thought I hated it."

"Didn't you?"

"No!" April cried, and slapped a hand over her mouth, praying nobody heard that. She whispered at Karai, "I mean, I didn't _love_ the gift itself, but… I didn't want him to think that I hated it, so I didn't tell him that I'd lost it. It must have killed him that I didn't even seem to miss it after he took it back… Oh, this is terrible!" April buried her face in her hands, muffling her groans of anguish into her palms. _Stupid!_

"So now all you gotta do is tell him, right?" Karai said, and April lifted her gaze to find she was looking at her with something other than playfulness or mischief. Only a shadow of her previous smirk remained. April felt her arms prickle with Karai's alertness. She was expectant…

But April hesitated, casting her eyes towards the floor, thinking. Yes, of course. She had to explain this to Donnie. How she was going to go about it, she didn't know— _hey, Donnie, funny story: remember that music box you thought I hated?_ But that music box was hers, she wanted it back! Of course she wanted it back! She felt a sudden thrill at the thought of revealing this to Donnie, how much relief it was going to bring him, and warm anticipation trickled up the back of her neck.

But then she reeled, because nothing was ever as simple, and if April was going to bring up the music box, then one topic was bound to lead to another, and suddenly she could find herself trying to explain certain recent… events. Was she ready to tell him _everything_? she wondered, and suddenly felt sick.

After all, was it really the right moment to bring up his gift to her? They were about to be visited by their future selves, and that was disquieting enough. Would it really help anybody if April started this conversation with Donnie _now_ of all times, when everybody needed him at the top of his game? If she had only asked Donnie about the music box when she thought she'd lost it...

Remembering that she wasn't alone in the room, April looked up from the floor and met Karai's watchful eyes. She was still patiently awaiting her reply like a hawk, probably watching every little gesture and counting the goosebumps on April's arms.

"Um… Yeah, I will," April managed to say, and seeing the unconvinced look on Karai's face, she continued, "Not right now, but I will. Meanwhile, please, just don't say _anything_ about this to anyone _. Please_."

Karai scoffed, and April felt the strongest urge to ask what the hell she meant by it. She only stopped herself because of the certainty that she would regret it.

"Why wouldn't you just tell him now? You got something to hide?" Karai asked, none too gently.

April was trying very hard not to go into certain subjects. Why did things have to get so complicated? She just wanted to get her ideas straight, see how it went with Casey, figure out some things with her dad before talking to Donnie or anyone. She still didn't even know what she was going to tell him on any of those fronts. She just needed time to think! Karai couldn't have waited just a week or two for this, could she?

"It's just not the best time for me," April said with finality.

"Does that mean you and Casey hooked up?" Karai asked suddenly, her grin turned wicked, and April felt herself riling up by the second.

"No, we did not _hook up_ ," she snapped, and bit back an incoming ' _yet'_.

"Really? Then what is the deal with you? You're honestly hard to figure out, and that's coming from _me_ ," Karai said in an air of sufficiency, then adopted a look of pity. "I can only imagine how the dudes feel."

April blew a loud guffaw. Out of all people, _she_ had _no_ right.

"You're one to talk, Karai," she said drily, and witnessed the immediate effect. Karai's grin drooped, all hint of humor draining from her face.

"Watch it, princess," she said, and the danger in her voice—that murderous glint in her eyes —almost put April into flight mode. Hell, if she had to choose between physically fighting the old Karai or being interrogated by the _new_ Karai, she'd have to really think about it. Right now she felt like she was getting a combo of both.

Fine. If there was something April and Karai had in common, it was their bullheadedness. April returned the death glare and held it, _held it_ , refusing to bow down.

And just when she thought Karai would have grabbed her by the throat next, a slow smile started to form on Karai's face. Suddenly she started laughing. She laughed loudly with that villainous laugh she hadn't quite grown out of yet, and April shook her head slowly in disbelief.

Well, at least she'd live to tell the tale…

"Nice death glare," Karai said jubilantly, punching April on the shoulder, and April had to remind her body that this wasn't old Karai and she wasn't in any danger—not mortal anyway. "You did go a bit cross-eyed though. Gotta work on that."

April didn't have it in her to retort. She was just hoping Karai would leave it at that, and then maybe April could go about guilt-tripping herself in peace.

Karai stood, gulping down the last of her drink before tossing the can in the recycle bin. "Anyway, I suppose your love life really is none of my business, right?" Karai said blithely, and April felt some relief; enough that she regretted ending the conversation on such a sour note—even if Karai hadn't been entirely graceful about it either.

"Karai," April said, stopping her before she reached the curtains. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you're just looking out for Donnie."

"Sure, that's a good reason. But really, it's just a lot of fun as well."

 _I guess that's her way of showing she cares_ , April realized, and that made her smile.

"Right…" she said, eyebrows raised in a show of skepticism. "But you have to promise that you'll let _me_ tell him. This is between us."

"Pfft. Fine," Karai agreed, and April felt herself relax a little. She hadn't realized how tense she was. But Karai continued confidentially. "On one condition, though: that you'll let me in on the details later."

April chuckled. If girl talk is what it took to gain Karai's silence, then it was a small price to pay. "I'll see what I can do," she said, and that seemed to be enough for Karai, who winked, smiling her lopsided smirk.

"Catch you later, princess!"

And she was off, leaving April where she sat on the stool, slumping forward over the table, feeling as if she'd just made it several blocks escaping from Karai's fury just to have Karai catch up to her, laugh it off and send her home with a diploma and a complimentary box of chocolates. _Will I ever get the hang of talking to you, Karai?_

There was a soft mewl, muffled behind the freezer door. April chuckled to herself. "I'm a doofus, Kitty," she said pitifully, and was rewarded with a curious "Murr?"

Something sprung into mind and she swivelled around. The coffee pot was on the counter, getting cold. She willed herself to move and finally carried the two mugs to the lab.

Before entering she stood at the threshold, where she could see Donnie's shell and mask tails shimmy about at the desk as he mumbled excitedly to himself. He'd taken out the soldering iron and the smell of burning metal mixed with the coffee—which seemed about right for the lab.

When she finally made up her mind to enter, Donnie greeted her like she was a gift from the heavens, as usual. As if she could do no wrong. _Why?_ April thought. _Why would you even still like me? How are you still talking to me?_

"Cheers!" Donnie said, surprising her a little, clinking his mug against hers and taking a sip. "Hey, you think you can get me another one of those flux pens? This one's running out. Gonna be doing a lot of soldering."

"Sure."

April noticed Donnie's gaze lingering on her. "All good?" he asked, and she made her best to look as happy and casual as he'd last seen her not even ten minutes ago.

"Yeah, uh... Leo said the docks were too busy," she said, shrugging, and Donnie made a "called-it" face. "I just took a little longer because Karai was in the kitchen and we chatted for a bit." She made her way back to her corner of the desk in front of her books.

"Uh-oh, that can't be good." Donnie laughed, but thankfully didn't delve, as he picked up the iron again, adjusted his goggles and continued working. "I'll probably need some help in a few minutes if that's alright."

"Of course." April sat in her corner watching him covertly.

She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him so bad… She even took a deep breath to speak— _I have something to tell you, Donnie_ —, but the air got stuck inside her. When she finally released it, it was in the form of a sigh, slow and contained, so Donnie wouldn't notice.

Addressing their relationship now could jeopardize everything. It was best to wait until this whole thing blew over. April knew it was unfair, and it probably wasn't the best thing to do, hiding things from him like this. It made her feel cowardly and wrong. But it was the best solution she could think of. She promised Donnie and herself, in her mind, that she would tell him everything soon—the music box, Casey, her dad...

 _Maybe I should make a checklist,_ her inner voice said bitterly.

It had been one year. It could wait a few more days, and then she would sit down with him and tell him everything, and Donnie would understand if she explained. Frankly she couldn't wait to get it off of her chest.

For the remainder of the afternoon, she made herself busy with her homework, if only to have an excuse for being silent to try to organize her thoughts, getting up occasionally to assist Donnie. Barely able to concentrate, her mind and her eyes wandered about the room until eventually she saw it. There it was, peeking at her from atop of the closet. It was right there after all and it had been there all along.

 _I'm such a doofus._

* * *

 **And remember! Reviews are writer chow!**

 **Thanks, guys! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright, plot!**

 **The guys run into some interesting people...**

 **As always, huge thanks to our beta readers, Queequegg and Theherocomplex!**

* * *

Leo was last out into the chilly night air, following Karai down from the office window above the cookie factory. They landed soundlessly in the back alley, where their other three brothers waited for orders around the fire escape ladder.

It was late. So late, in fact, it had been early for a while; pretty soon the buses would be up and running again. This second outing had proven as fruitless as the first: they still hadn't tracked down a single canister of mutagen, not counting the faint traces left back at the warehouse in the docks where they first looked, and Leo's resolve was slowly vanishing with every passing hour.

None of this was really a surprise; the Purple Dragons had had plenty of time to move it since Raph and Casey were there last night, and now Leo and the rest of the Hamato siblings had nothing but mere speculation as to what the Purple Dragons would want with mutagen or who they were keeping it for. They considered the usual suspects, of course—Shredder and his resident mad scientist Stockman, or even some leftover Kraang that might have been sitting low waiting for their chance—but they had _no_ leads. He'd rather know more before they went knocking at Shredder's doorstep.

"Well, another dud," Leo said tiredly, walking up to the group with Karai.

"Yeah, no kidding. Remind me to bring a magazine or something next time I'm on patrol with you guys. The _tedium_ ," she moaned.

"At least we got _these_ ," Mikey slurred, eyes glossy from a recent yawn, and ripped open a two pound bag of fortune cookies.

Leo had no energy to be mad that Mikey had stolen that from the factory. It really was a marvelous thing, Mikey's stomach. After stuffing himself dizzy on Chee-Z Balls from the Auman Chemicals factory behind Leo's back—perhaps thinking Leo wouldn't notice the orange on his lips or the artificial cheese in his breath—he still had room for more. There he was, popping cookies in his mouth while gently rocking on his feet with his eyes closed, as though lulling himself to sleep with the crunching and his own soft sounds of delight.

"Donnie? Any readings?" Leo asked his other brother, trying to ignore the noises coming from Mikey's side, and Donnie took one fleeting look at the tracker.

"No..." he replied monotonously for the eightieth time that night.

Raph groaned. "Urrrgh! This is pointless, Leo! We've been running around all night! We've already been to the docks, the Chee-Z balls factory, the cookie factory… and we haven't found _anything_. Even Casey went home two hours ago. Can we _please_ just call it a night?"

Leo sighed, unwilling to give in to exhaustion—or Raph's demands, for that matter.

"We have to find that mutagen. Who knows what they might want it for?" Leo said. He was only playing the role of the responsible one out of routine, and because someone had to. In reality, he was as unenthusiastic as the rest of them. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the softness of his futon and the warmth of his blanket… He only needed to give the order and nobody would disagree.

"We're not gonna find it tonight!" Raph insisted. "The Purple Dragons must have left town or something."

"If you had warned us last night instead of slacking off, Raph, we might've still been able to catch up to them then," Leo retorted, unable to hold back the bout of crankiness, and Raph made a sound of annoyance in his throat.

"Right," he grumbled bitterly, "good thing you just told me that, Leo, 'cause I didn't quite hear you the last eight times."

In the background, Mikey bit open another fortune cookie. Leo winced as the _crack_ resounded noisily around the alley.

"Oh… I forgot fortune cookies had fortunes in them," Mikey said, picking the slimed fortune from between his front teeth. The sight conjured up a chorus of repulsed groans. Leo closed his eyes and imagined himself facepalming, just to satisfy the urge. The only one who seemed mildly entertained by it was Karai. "'If your cookie still in one piece, buy lotto'," Mikey read aloud, squinting and blinking at the tiny roll of paper. "Awww! If only I'd known!"

"Honestly, I'm stumped," Donnie said over the loud chewing sounds that followed. "Raph might be right; it's like the Purple Dragons used their brains for once and actually took the mutagen outside the city, where we can't even track it. I haven't gotten a single reading since we left the warehouse." Donnie gave the device a frustrated backhand.

"Oh, don't worry; it's gonna turn up one way or another..." Raph said, foreboding.

"'Your health is important; eat your vegetables'? The heck kind of a fortune is that?" Mikey exclaimed, glaring at the fortune before crumpling it up to the size of a pea and throwing it scornfully over his shoulder.

Leo made one last big effort to ignore him. "Well, I would rather it not turn up in the form of another mutant. So we're gonna track these guys down no matter what, _before_ that happens. What time is it?"

Donnie took out his phone and gazed at the screen with sleepy eyes.

"Five-thirteen." He chuckled pitifully. "Ah, this takes me back. Tracking down mutagen all over New York until dawn."

"Good times," Mikey said sleepily, and Leo saw him pull another piece of paper straight out of his mouth and attempt to clean it.

Karai laughed. "Aw, look at you brave boy scouts, out so late. You're just like grownup ninjas, I'm so proud of you."

Raph huffed. "Oh, like _you're_ not tired, Karai."

"No," Karai said at once, all smiles and confidence, looking as fresh as a daisy. Leo knew it wasn't necessarily true and she would welcome a bed as much as any of them, but he had to admit she knew how to hide it better.

"'You will find love close to home'," Mikey said, his mouth still full and spewing cookie crumbs as he spoke. "Huh. Were any of you guys thinking about eating that one? Donnie?"

Donnie glowered.

"No? Maybe Leo… Or…"

Mikey looked at Raph, and Raph yanked the fortune and the bag of cookies out of Mikey's grip and dumped them down the sewer grate before he could make any suggestions. Leo was immediately torn by overlapped feelings of affront and gratitude.

"You're welcome," Raph announced with crossed arms.

"Bro!" Mikey yelled. "Why'd you have to-"

"Be quiet!" Leo ordered in loud whispers. A dog started barking down the street, probably replying to Mikey's shrill tone of voice. "Do I really have to remind you that this is a stealth mission?"

"But those were my cookies! You had no right!" Mikey still cried, looking at Raph with eyes full of hurt.

"I'm _sleepy_ ," Raph replied, in a way that said 'sleepy' was not a state in which Raph should ever be messed with.

"Well, so am I, but that's no excuse to be a bag of douches!" Mikey kept defending himself while Donnie just stood by wearing the most I-am-so-done expression.

"It is if your pig brother's munching crackers in your ear at five in the morning! And why don't you learn to curse?"

Leo considered stepping in again, but he knew he would have no authority at the moment. Not while he was fighting just to keep his eyes open, and he felt like he could fall asleep right then and there, on his feet, in the stinking alleyway.

"Alright, you know what?" he said instead, coming between them before Mikey could protest again. "We need to think of a better plan. Let's go home."

The tension lifted instantly with a general sigh of relief and a couple of loud yawns. The group started eagerly climbing the ladder to the rooftop like last-minute shoppers, as if they feared Leo would change his mind if they didn't hurry.

The cool air up top felt good to Leo's numbed senses. There was already a faint glow of cold pink on the horizon, even though the sun wouldn't rise for another hour. The breeze brought with it the distant sound of an alarm clock.

"I can't wait to just drop into bed," Raph said, rolling his shoulders with a wince as they made their way across the roof top.

Then Leo halted midstep.

He felt it more than heard it; an unfamiliar vibration in the air. _Intruders_.

"Stop." He did not yell. His tone said enough that the entire group froze. Their heads turned to Leo, four pairs of eyes watching him for signs.

"We got company," he said, not in a whisper because it would not have mattered; whoever it was, they already knew his family was there. Leo could tell from the others' eyes that they felt it too, and they all unsheathed their weapons as one.

There was the faintest sound of grazing fabric and Leo swiveled on the spot towards the group of shadows come alive. The shapes marched orderly into plain view, into the light of the streetlamp a few steps from the team, fifteen-or-so black-clad ninjas in hoods. At first, Leo thought "Foot soldiers", but he quickly realised—once he saw their eyes, and their uniforms emblazoned with a lotus blossom—these guys weren't from around here.

The strangers were well armed, but none of them wielded their weapons. Hands limp at their sides, every finger was visible for Leo to see. Karai and his brothers were all waiting for him to give the order.

"Who are these guys? Another ninja clan?" Donnie said behind Leo. Obviously he'd also noticed they weren't the usual company.

Leo didn't respond. He was still trying to figure that one out, and his eyes travelled around the group. A figure stood out from the rest—small, but undeniably dominant. The alleged leader made one motion with a hand to the group, curt—there was no need for a reply—then started moving. Leo tensed, but made another quick signal to his own team to stand their ground. And then the figure standing before him pulled back its hood.

"Ooooh, it's a girl!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Quiet," Leo ordered with a wince. Somehow, it did not feel appropriate to call this person that, no matter how young she appeared to be. She was Asian, probably Japanese, and she looked like a _warrior_. Her face was stern and robust. Stoic. Her confident stance made her look much taller than she actually was. When she spoke, she did it in a strong, commanding voice, with a heavy Japanese accent.

"My name is Hachisu-no-Hana. We—" and here she motioned firmly at the group of ninjas behind her, "—are the Lotus Clan."

Hachisu-no-Hana knelt, and ceremoniously laid her sheathed katana on the concrete floor in front of her.

"We humbly request to be taken before the sensei of your Hamato Clan for an audience with him," Hachisu-no-Hana went on, still not lifting her head, the tip of her ponytail almost touching the roof. "We wish to discuss a matter that is of great importance for both of our clans. I am sure your master would be most interested."

 _Straight to the point,_ thought Leo, impressed. _So efficient_.

He exchanged a quick look with his team and they lowered their weapons. Each showed a different degree of distrust. Donnie seemed cautious, but the curiosity in his eyes was more than apparent. Mikey was clearly all for it, and Karai seemed wary but intrigued. Raph was never one to hide his disapproval even in the most delicate of situations. He was the last to yield, scowling at the strangers.

Truth be told, none of them were used to this kind of treatment from… anyone, really. After all, the only contact they'd had with other ninjas so far had been with the Foot Clan, and that had never been pleasant or friendly. But the leader of the Lotus Clan still knelt as she waited for their response.

Leonardo decided to honor the gesture, and sheathed his swords. Behind him he could hear the rest do the same as he stepped up to the Lotus leader with what he hoped would be a firm, confident, stance, like hers.

"Miss-" he started, but bit back the rest, fearing he'd screwed up already. "Hachisu-san." _That's better._ "How do you know we're Hamato clan?"

The woman reached inside her sash while still kneeling, and held the engraved shuriken up for all to see.

"We saw two of your... men yesterday." The word 'men' came laced with doubt, but there was no impertinence in her gesture. "We have looked everywhere for you since then."

Leo glanced backwards at Raph, who shrugged.

"And what exactly is this matter with Master Sp- that is so important to the Hamato Clan?"

"I would prefer to discuss it with him directly," she said, bowing her head in a show of modesty, after which she lifted her onyx-black eyes and laid them on Leo. She was clearly studying him, a surprising disregard for all protocol, and he felt himself freeze under the woman's penetrating gaze as it danced over his face. He couldn't help but feel a little self conscious of the green on his skin and the shell on his back.

At last she blinked, and sat up straight. "Forgive me. How will I refer to you, nakama?"

"Leo. I mean, Leonardo… Leonardo." He watched the faintest of smiles form on the woman's lips, and swallowed.

"Leonardo-san," she said kindly. "I assure you, our intentions are completely honorable. We mean your clan no harm. But it is of great importance that we talk to your sensei."

He nodded.

"Hey, fearless leader!"

Leo's body tensed like a bow as Raph's cry _obliterated_ the mood. He turned to throw him a murderous look, one that said "you will regret that later", and found Donnie also approaching him.

"Sorry, Leo. Can we talk for a moment?" Donnie's voice and mannerisms told him his brother was in full business mode.

Wanting nothing more than to sink through the roof, Leo offered the Lotus a brief bow of his head, avoiding Hachisu-no-Hana's eyes, and begrudgingly joined his squad in their circle. Why did they feel the need to embarrass themselves in front of such solemn company? The rest of the Lotus Clan hadn't moved a pinky. They were all standing still as statues on the spot and in reverent silence as their leader spoke. They did as was expected of loyal followers. They were _professionals._

"What is it?" Leo hissed through gritted teeth.

"Look, nevermind what they say," Donnie began, "we don't _know_ who these guys are or what they really want. You could be blithely sharing tea and cookies with her, and for all we know the rest of her clan would be chopping off Splinter's head meanwhile and delivering it to the Shredder."

"Yeah, I know her type," Karai said, for once not making jokes. In fact, she didn't look the least bit happy. "And believe me; this girl might be all manners and protocol, but that doesn't make her trustworthy."

"And why did you think I need _you_ to tell me this?" squawked Leo, and immediately bit his lips knowing he'd been a little too loud.

"I saw you, Leo!" Raph said. "You would've agreed to give this woman a piggy-back ride to the lair if we hadn't cut you off. You think we don't remember your little run-ins with Miss Sunshine over here?" He jerked an angry thumb at Karai, who only nodded in agreement.

"You really were such easy prey," she said, hands on her hips and eyebrows raised cockily, and a burning blush rose to Leo's cheeks, fueled by both humiliation and a sense of betrayal at Karai's words.

"This is nothing like that," he gritted out, resisting the urge to yell at both of them.

Donnie came between them like a waving white flag.

"They said they were the 'Lotus clan'. Come to think of it, didn't Splinter mention them sometime?"

Leo thought back. "Yeah, sounds familiar," he said, though he couldn't confirm it. It must have been a long time ago, in one of Master Splinter's many tales.

"But I thought there weren't supposed to be any more ninja clans remaining," Raph insisted, still suspicious.

"Well, can you really know with ninjas? I mean maybe they chose to exist in complete shadows, like us," Leo offered, but the rest didn't look half convinced.

"All we're saying is, let's be careful," Donnie said slowly. "We can just tell them we'll consult this with Splinter and watch that they don't follow us."

"I know what to do!" Leo snapped, offended that his brothers would think he'd be so stupid as to take a bunch of strangers—ninjas, no less—to their home just like that.

"Ok then, go ahead," Donnie offered as he retreated into his position two steps behind and Leo started to turn back towards the group of newcomers.

"Thank you," Leo whispered tersely, shooting a glance of indignation at the empty space left by Donnie, then turned his gaze back to Hachisu-no-Hana. She was still kneeling in the same position, waiting patiently. He cleared his throat before proceeding to make sure his mouth would make the right sounds.

"Alright, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. We will take your word to our master and we will meet you back here tomorrow at sundown to communicate his decision."

"That is fair," Hachisu-no-Hana said, picking up her weapon as she stood. She was so tiny, but also kind of scary: her straight expression and keen eyes said "I could crush you with my pinky, but I won't… for now."

"Do not follow us," Leo said with all the composure that he was able to gather, but careful to keep it cordial. "I'm sure you don't need to hear how such a thing would be rude and would mean an immediate termination of our agreement."

"We would not dream of it," Hachisu-no-Hana obliged kindly.

He nodded. "Until tomorrow, then."

"Until tomorrow, Leonardo-san," the Lotus leader said, bowing.

Leo mirrored her as symmetrically as he was able. There was a ruffle of air and when he lifted his head, the Lotus Clan was gone.

"Whoaaaa," Mikey gasped. "Are we this awesome-looking from the outside too? I bet we totally are!" he said through an ample smile, adopting an epic pose worthy of a Crognard poster. "I'll have to ask Casey!"

"As fierce and graceful as sailor scouts," Karai joked. Mikey seemed to think that was a good thing, judging by the glimmer in his eyes. As for Leo, Karai's continued mocking was setting his teeth on edge.

"I dunno, there might be room for some improvement," he scoffed, and obviously the comment wasn't lost on his siblings, Mikey coming down from his hype with a confused frown.

"What the hell does that mean?" Raph demanded.

"I _mean_ why did you guys have to embarrass me like that in front of other ninjas?" At first Leo hadn't realized how terrible that had sounded out loud, but he was made perfectly aware by Raph's sudden burst of laughter.

"Oh, are we not honorable enough for your honorable ninja club?" he mocked, wiggling his fingers, and Leo had to take a deep breath and a step back to keep himself from snapping. Donnie and Mikey looked between them, wincing, but neither stepped in. Leo had to settle for a sigh of resignation.

And as it couldn't be otherwise, Karai laughed. "You're so cute when you try to act all samurai."

Leo chose silence. _Just let them finish. If you don't say anything else eventually they'll run out of things to make fun of_ , he told himself, too sleepy to come up with a more dignified way out of there.

"Don't take it like that, bro. It went well, right?" Raph said once he was done laughing, giving Leo a resounding smack on the shell—his idea of a truce.

Leo only offered back a glare and started walking.

"Let's just go home already before the Foot show up to complete our night," he said, and jumped the gap to the next rooftop.

* * *

Leo couldn't remember how he had gotten there, alone with Hachisu-no-Hana-no-Hana in that empty void. She was just standing there in the half-light, muttering something he couldn't really make out.

"Speak up," he asked, before realizing maybe she was speaking Japanese, and he strained his ears. She was chanting. The words made no sense, but they must have been important. Leo saw her pull out a couple of objects from her sash and she held them up like talismans. They were one of those kawaii mochi with faces, but these ones… these ones were _powerful_. The way she was holding them, drawing complex symbols in the air with them as she chanted the words… Leo was mesmerized. Hachisu-no-Hana's eyes were intent on his, and she was moving purposefully slow while Leo struggled to keep up.

Finally she stopped, and then extended her two hands with the smiling mochi towards Leo.

 _Uh-oh_ , Leo thought as he accepted the mochi with hands that shook. _She wants me to do it now. What were the words? I can't remember!_

After a few failed attempts at starting the ritual, he saw Hachisu-no-Hana slowly shake her head in deep disapproval. He was only embarrassing himself, now completely lost and panicking. His voice suddenly broke, and he clamped his mouth shut, mortified.

Hachisu-no-Hana laughed. Then she slowly lifted one hand, showing it to him before reaching up to her forehead, and Leo watched carefully. _What is she…?_

The hand fumbled for a bit at the hairline, and when it came down, it dragged with it a zipper, and her face split in half. By the time it was down to her chest, Leo could already see Karai's head emerging from the Hachisu-no-Hana suit, still smirking.

The rest of the suit fell to the ground like a rubber glove— _flop_ —and now Karai stood before Leo wearing a beautiful ball gown, sprinkled not with sequins, but with thousands of tiny rivets that glinted in the moonlight like a galaxy. She spun around to offer Leo a better view of her body and the way that dress fit her perfectly. She looked astonishing

"C'mon Leo, show me those moves," she said, extending a hand towards him.

She wanted to dance, so Leo stepped up to happily oblige as a spunky country song started blaring all around them.

"I'll lead," she said, and Leo was perfectly okay with it. He couldn't dance anyway, she might as well. Maybe if he tried to follow her moves he could pass for half decent in front of all these people **.** He thought he was doing pretty good, and Karai seemed pleased. But then in between swirls he noticed some people starting to point and giggle, and he looked down on himself. No wonder they were laughing! His tuxedo jacket and bow-tie were pristine, but he had completely forgotten to put on pants!

Leo woke up with a start, and his head bobbed up as he lifted his eyes to look at Splinter.

It took him a moment to place himself. He was in the dojo, kneeling on the carpet. It was early morning, and he had been waiting for Master Splinter to get up so he could tell him about their encounter with the Lotus, when he had seemingly nodded off.

"Is something the matter, my son?" Splinter asked, sliding his door closed behind him. "You seem a bit distraught."

"It was nothing, Master Splinter, just a... _really weird dream_ ," Leo said, rubbing his neck, trying to shake the ludicrous images off his mind.

Splinter nodded, and pulled on his beard like he always did when he was deducing things. "And there is something you wish to tell me?"

"Hai, sensei," Leo said, and heaved himself to his feet with no small amount of effort. "We didn't find the mutagen, but we did run into some pretty interesting people…"

* * *

 **Mmm yes, something is brewing. So what do you think of these newcomers? What are their intentions? How is their arrival going to affect the Hamatos?**

 **Remember: reviews are writer chow!**


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter took FOREVER, we are very sorry! Please enjoy some Capriltello friendship development, and then Leorai shenanigans! A little interlude before shit starts really going down.**

 **Relationships are hard, man...**

 **The usual big thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and TheHeroComplex! *mwa***

* * *

The turtles were just clearing up the breakfast table when April arrived after school. Apparently they'd been trotting around Manhattan long after she and Casey had gone home last night—her father didn't look happy to see her arrive so late— and even then, there had been no luck finding the mutagen. But it hadn't all been pointless; they told her about a new ninja clan they encountered, and the way they described the mysterious newcomers made her a little jealous she hadn't been there. Mikey and Leo seemed particularly enraptured by their professed awesomeness.

She was thrilled to know the guys would be going out to meet them again at sundown, which meant she could come with. Until then, April figured it was the perfect time to have that study session Donnie had offered a few days ago—her big Algebra exam was approaching fast. Refusing to let the fact that she and Casey had gone on a secret date together change anything, she made herself act like it was just another study date in the lab. Before going through the big metal doors, April simply gave Casey a warning look, hoping he got the message. _Not a word, Jones._ He pressed his lips, but didn't protest.

Donnie seemed only briefly disappointed that he would have to set aside working on the portal, but immediately backpedaled, assuring them he could actually use the break. He cleared up his desk of all the portal entrails, wires and chips and other mysterious components, brought three stools from the kitchen, and they got down to business.

It went pretty well… for like the first fifteen minutes.

Not like Casey would ever pick up a textbook with any amount of enthusiasm, but at least he gave it a try. Now, almost one hour in, Casey's patience was long depleted, and there were still many, many equations left to go.

"Come on, Jones, _focus_! What's the value of Y?" Donnie asked for the jillionth time that afternoon, impatiently tapping the page, and April looked at Casey in search for a sign that any of this was sticking. _Any at all_. But Casey only let out an exasperated sigh.

"Who gives a shit, man…"

April groaned inwardly, trying to keep her frustration hidden. The study session wasn't turning out as fruitful as she had originally intended. This always happened: they got together to be productive and then Casey just… quit. It was as if she'd never really stopped being Casey's tutor, ever since she was assigned him last school year.

It didn't help that it was such a nice day out either. Spring was in full bloom and it showed even in the deepest corners of the lair. The warm air filtered through the grates, bringing in some pollen particles that floated about and got in their hair. Even a bee had made it down there somehow, looking terribly lost. And there _they_ were, just like that bee, unable to move forward to the next set of problems.

Gathering all her patience, she leaned forward. "Here, remember what we have to do with this fraction?"

"I have no idea," Casey said, not even looking at the page.

"At least try to get this one equation," April pleaded, laying an encouraging hand on Casey's shoulder. Casey grunted and gave the problem a short glance, but then he shoved the book away.

"This is _impossible_! I hate algebra."

"You're almost at the end of the year, you _know_ how important it is that you pass this," Donnie said in a parenty voice. April winced a little, because it was the kind of voice Casey despised.

Sure enough, he growled, "I know! Okay? I'm just… blank!"

Donnie's tongue clucked noisily, voicing his obvious despair. As much as she knew Donnie meant well, he wasn't the most patient teacher with a more challenging student, and wouldn't realize he was actually doing the opposite of helping. If she'd learned anything, it was that the more they pushed, the less Casey tried.

April decided to change strategies. Holding up a finger, she signalled Donnie to take a step back and let her try. He obliged, a little begrudgingly, and she scooched her stool closer to Casey. "Here," she offered kindly as she led him through the problem, writing it down step by step, from scratch. "See, we use this equation to solve for Z: fifty-two. And now we use that to solve for Y. So what's the value of Y, then?"

She left the last step open for Casey, who had reluctantly leaned forward, hopefully to try and follow. There was a twinkle in his eye that April recognized as a light bulb coming on in his head, and he picked up the pencil. She watched, holding her breath, as he scribbled the division in his chaotic handwriting, quickly as though he feared the solution would flee from his mind if he didn't hurry.

"Is that it?" he asked finally, lifting the pencil from the page and seeking approval in her eyes.

April celebrated before Casey was even done asking. "Yes! You got it!" She offered Casey a high-five that he met a little too enthusiastically, leaving a prickly feeling on April's palm even with his gloves on. She shook it off, laughing.

"Holy crap, I got it!" he proclaimed, throwing punches at the air. "Who's the block-head now?"

Donnie gave a cautious chuckle of celebration. "See? That wasn't so hard."

"That's right, foo'! Not even algebra can stop Casey Jones now!" Casey roared, shoving a finger at the solved equation.

"Great! Then Casey Jones can totally handle four more pages!" Donnie replied, smiling like a door-to-door salesperson and Casey faltered, looking somewhat less confident.

"Uh, I think we earned a little break, don't you? Huh, Professor D?" Casey countered, optimistically rising from his chair and nudging Donnie's side.

But Donnie had the face of a teacher who took no bullshit, no ass-kissing, and no bribes. "See that clock, Jones?" he said, pointing towards the aforementioned device hanging from the wall. "You can take a break when the hour is up like we agreed."

"That's like 10 whole minutes!" Casey whined, plummeting back into his seat.

April released a snort. "Come on, 'Professor', it's only ten minutes, and we can _all_ use a break."

The professor rolled his eyes, drawling, "Fine...", and at once Casey pushed himself away from the table. "But I hope you put more effort into the next hour, Casey," Donnie warned.

"Cut me some slack, Don. You know I'm not smart enough for this... _junk_ ," he said, motioning at the homework like a pile of manure.

"Don't give me that, you're just not interested." Donnie looked at him with his arms crossed.

"That too," Casey muttered, stretching. The sight was infectious, and April stretched in her seat as well.

"Man, I need some caffeine," Casey said, cracking his neck and sounding more exhausted than if he'd been out all night clubbing heads.

April wasn't surprised to hear Donnie's sound of approval at the mention of the word.

"That's one thing we can agree on! I think we have some Wake Up in the fridge," he said, starting towards the door, but then there was a sound of slipping fabric and something toppled to the ground with a resounding boom as Donnie stumbled forward a couple of steps. April almost fell off her stool from the start, and looked down to see her backpack on the floor, one strap tangled around Donnie's ankle.

"Nice goin', elephant feet." Casey laughed with zero delicacy, like he always did when he referred to any aspect of Donnie's unique mutant physiology. Luckily, a lot had happened since the old days when that would enrage Donnie, and the turtle only gave him a sideways glare as he righted himself, Casey bending down to pick up the backpack.

"Damn, what do you have in here, bricks?" Casey said to April, weighing the bag in both hands before dropping it in front of her with a dry thunk. Immediately, she could tell Donnie had caught sight of the contents, and before she could reply he was already stretching his long neck over their shoulders to get a closer look.

"Wait! Is that _The Way Things Work_ by David Macaulay?" he said, big eyes intent on the cover peeking through the top of the bag. "I know that book, it's a classic!"

April hesitated for a split-second, because she hadn't planned to let him see it yet. A part of her wasn't sure about letting Casey see Donnie get a present from her, even when it was barely a present. But she tossed the thought aside. This was ridiculous! Was she not going to be able to be herself around either of them anymore? she complained to herself, wondering when she'd started worrying so much.

Determined not to let her anxiety dominate her, she took out the book, which was heavy enough to level asphalt, and handed it out to Donnie.

"Oh yeah," she said as though she'd just remembered. "I brought it for you, Donnie."

"For me?" Donnie said, open-mouthed as he hesitantly extended his hands towards it, like he couldn't believe it. April nudged the book at him so he finally wrapped his fingers around the edges, as gingerly as if he was holding a puppy.

"It's nothing, really," she said, trying to play it down despite herself with a swift side glance at Casey, relieved to see no signs of outrage on his face. "Dad and I were doing some spring cleaning and I rescued this from the bottom of a trunk. I thought you'd like it, and Dad said you could have it."

"Really? Wow! Thanks so much!" He gazed at the heavy book in his hands, holding it aloft like some priceless treasure found in an ancient tomb.

"It's pretty old," April said sadly, grazing a gentle finger against the cracks on the spine. "The edges are a bit worn, and I tried to straighten all the dog eared pages..."

"Trust me, down here this is considered 'like new'. Your dad's the best. Give him my thanks too!"

Donnie was _beaming_. He looked so happy, and April couldn't help the little prick of regret at his words, wondering if he would still think so highly of her dad if he knew what his opinion was on April hanging out with them. Once again, she had to shake the thought away, and watched as Donnie opened the book, flipping through some pages under the only mildly interested gaze of Casey. At one drawing of a mammoth wearing a pair of goggles much like his own, he let out a chuckle that gave April butterflies.

"This book is like the 'Where the Wild Things Are' of engineering. The level, of course, is _elementary_ , but you gotta love the way it's illustrated."

"You're such a show-off, Donnie," Casey said with a grimace.

"And you're one to talk, _Casey Jones_!" Donnie retorted, only momentarily lifting his eyes off the book. "Besides, I'm not being a show-off when it's true. That's just being observant."

Casey retaliated with a guffaw. "You would get so many wedgies in school, dude."

But Donnie barked a laugh of his own, like that was never even a concern. "I'd like to see them try," he said cockily, picking up a nearby wrench and performing a few juggling moves before striking a heroic pose, flexing a couple of pretty impressive biceps. April shook her head, chuckling into the neck of her shirt, and Casey looked at him with a half smile.

"Trust me, dude. High school is fucked up. _Especially_ for the nerds," Casey went on, and April made a little sound of agreement at the observation, which definitely had some truth to it.

But Donnie got up, book in hand, and she could tell he was pointedly ignoring their claims, as though he didn't want to taint his ideal image of school. He held the book to his snout and took a deep whiff.

"Mmm, I love it when books smell like paper instead of dumpster," he said, and the corner of April's mouth quirked upwards to see him so excited about something so simple. Sometimes she forgot the turtles had lived secluded in their sewers the first fifteen years of their lives. They were amazingly well-adapted, all things considered. "Lemme put it away in my room. I'm gonna give this bad boy a read tonight."

"Get the Wake Up while you're at it, Donnie," Casey called out as the turtle made his way to the exit.

"Right, right. And for you, April?" he asked her. His face lit up when he looked at her.

"No, thanks," she replied with a smile. She wasn't much of a fan of that stuff, which she always found looked and tasted like pee.

Donnie nodded. "Be right back," he said before heading out the big lab doors to the common room.

And then it was April and Casey alone together, something which—now that April thought about it—hadn't really happened since their date.

They'd been around each other, and they'd exchanged a few words, sure, but the subject hadn't come up in these past couple of days. Not like they could've discussed with the guys around.

The truth was, April wasn't sure _what_ to say. She was afraid Casey would be annoyed with her for her indecision, angry even. As for her… Well, the date itself had been a bit of a disaster, although she blamed a lot of it on Casey getting pummeled, consequently making them miss the movie, and her being in a dismal mood as a result. She couldn't really form a fair conclusion around those factors. The amount of excitement on her part might have been a bit underwhelming, but maybe she was just nervous...

Sure enough, once Donnie was out of earshot, Casey sat and leaned in close to speak in a low voice. "Hey, so I was thinking we could try that second date tomorrow or something," he said, topping off the words with a wink.

April shifted a little uncomfortably, glancing over at the lab doors in fear of anyone overhearing. She was happy to see Casey wasn't holding anything against her though, which left room for maneuvering. "Actually, I already said I would help with the portal tomorrow too," she whispered, shrugging, after making sure no one would hear.

"Alright, how about Wednesday?" Casey counter-proposed right away with that charming, audacious smile of his.

She chuckled under her breath, and the warmth in her cheeks was the reminder she needed to help her decide. Maybe this time there would be an actual spark, and hopefully Casey will keep his word of not getting into a fight during date night. She was actually looking forward to having another go at kissing, now that she knew roughly what to expect. "Yeah, Wednesday could be good, but can we talk about this later?" she said, pausing to listen for footsteps.

"Okay, so should I call you, or…?"

"Donnie, remember we have to meet the Lotus in two hours," they heard Leo say from the common-room.

"I know, Leo!" came Donnie's impatient reply, sounding dangerously close.

With one look, April ended the conversation.

Donnie must have been just passing by on the way to the kitchen from leaving the book in his room, because he didn't actually show up right away, but still. It was enough that they had dated in secret; arranging another one right then and there, in the lab, when Donnie was only two rooms away, felt even worse.

"How's hockey training?" she asked Casey, changing the subject to something more trivial. She couldn't blame him for not seeming entirely thrilled about it. He'd been cool enough to keep this whole situation between the two of them until she was ready, for which she was grateful.

"A nightmare." Casey huffed in reply to her question. "This punk Billy has been missing since forever. Coach is taking it out on all of us. If he doesn't show up in time, we're not gonna be able to play."

"Ugh, I know how that is," April commented. "I'm supposed to be doing a Chemistry project with this girl Janice, but she hasn't come to class in like three days, and won't even answer my emails."

"Maybe it's flu season." Casey shrugged disinterestedly.

April nodded absently and they chatted on about meaningless trivialities until a minute later Donnie reappeared through the lab doors, easily carrying two cans of Wake Up in one enormous hand, and what appeared to be a bowl of healthy, brain-stimulating snacks in the other—walnuts, mostly. He left the bowl on the table within easy reach and sat back down on his stool beside her.

He and April both grabbed a handful, but Casey took one look at the bowl full of nuts and blew a loud raspberry. "That's it? Not even some dip or anything?"

"This is brain food, Casey," Donnie said, and happily plopped a peeled walnut in his mouth. "You could use it; still got one hour to go and four pages to complete."

Casey slumped instantly as if Donnie's words were a thick lead plate falling on his shoulders. "Ugh. I wish I was a mutant turtle right now so I didn't have to take this stupid exam."

When hanging out with these two, April often felt like she was assisting a tennis match, following the ball back and forth to either side of her as they each swung ruthlessly at each other. Donnie obviously took offense to that last shot, judging by the way he straightened up on his chair, eyes wide and full of incredulity. "I'd give anything to be able to go to college and here you are completely undermining your education!"

April could testify to that: in his thirst for knowledge, Donnie had in fact compiled a series of titles through online courses. The printed-out diplomas hanging behind his desk were witness for that, and they were as official as they could get, bearing in mind the lack of a real ID or address.

"Well, that might be your lifelong dream, Donnie, but in case it wasn't obvious, it's not really mine!" Casey protested, glowering at the textbook.

"Ok, you insensitive moron, how about this?" Donnie said irritably, giving the metaphorical ball a mighty thwack back. "If you fail this semester, you're going to lose your hockey scholarship. Just like if you were a mutant turtle. April, tell him!"

April sighed, propping her head on one hand. "He knows, Donnie…" she droned, peering at Casey and the way he was pressing his lips and squinting his eyes.

"Alright, enough goofing around then. Time's a wastin', and we still got a lot to cover before going out," the turtle said, quickly opening the textbook again as if that was the answer to everything.

Unfortunately, Casey didn't seem to share the sentiment. He looked like he would rather have his fingernails pulled off with pliers than to have to touch that textbook again. "Listen, guys, how about we just call it a day? I mean I'm set for a C, definitely!" he said, feigning an expression of intense optimism, and April knew the only reason he wasn't screaming profanities was because he was so desperate to get out of there. "That's more than enough to keep my hockey scholarship."

Donnie looked about ready to head-bonk the table. "At this rate, the only C on your report card will be the one at the top of the document, _in your first name_."

"But his first name isn't even-" April said in a bit of a slur before a nudge from Casey interrupted her.

"Dude! April! Come on!"

She took a hand to her mouth in a silent "oops". She forgot he didn't like that name, and that he'd never told the turtles. In fact, he'd told close to nobody, and she only knew because she'd seen some of his school assignments. Too late now, because the look of shock had already been slapped onto Donnie's face.

"What… wait, you mean Casey's _not_ your first name? So what _is_ it?" he asked.

Casey shot April a glare.

"Thanks a lot, Red!"

"Sorry," she apologized, shrinking into herself, but she couldn't help the impish smirk on her lips.

"Oooh, is it really embarrassing?" Donnie said as his mouth spread into a grin, and he started trembling with anticipation.

"Like it could be worse than _Donatello_!" Casey mocked, saying Donnie's name like it was quite possibly the stupidest word he'd ever heard.

But Donnie did not seem at all phased by this, determination in his eyes. "So what's the problem, then? Go ahead and say it!" he challenged. "Or is the mighty Casey Jones chicken?"

"Forget it, dude. That won't work. I'm not telling you," Casey said with a look of warning at April, who decided to hereby wash her hands of the situation—although she was a kind of impressed that he was able to ignore that shot at his masculinity...

"Based on your silence, I'm betting on 'tiny and adorable'," Donnie speculated, clearly not willing to give up yet, and that seemed to do it.

"For your information, it's a thousand times manlier than any of your guys's stupid hipster names!"

"Oh, no, now you've hurt my feelings," Donnie deadpanned.

Casey seemed about to respond, but apparently had second thoughts. He crossed his arms over his chest, jaw clenched in a vow of silence.

"That's okay, don't tell me. You know I can find out on my own," Donnie said coolly.

"Yeah, right," Casey retorted, but April saw panic flash through his stubborn features. "I mean, how would you even do that?" His posture, perched at the edge of his seat, suggested he was threatening to crack Donnie's skull with his robust chin, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the slight waver of his voice.

"I'm a ninja. Basically a spy with martial arts skills. And there are _plenty_ of places I can look. Like your student card?" Donnie stated thoughtfully, arms crossed and eyebrows high.

Then all three of them took their own glances towards Casey's backpack lying by the leg of the table.

There was a moment of silence in which Donnie's grin slowly stretched into a sneer, exchanging a look of mischief with April. She glanced to and fro at both boys sitting on either sides of her, staring down one another, and shrunk into herself in anticipation for what she knew was coming.

April gave a yelp when they attacked, both diving for the backpack at the same time. Casey managed to get to it first, but Donnie was soon on him like an octopus.

"No! Donnie, n-no!" Casey grunted, desperately trying to keep his backpack away from Donnie's quick hands, and suddenly it wasn't a tennis match anymore; it was basketball. The finals. And Donnie was the star player. The turtle broke into devilish cackles as they wrestled, a confusing tornado of limbs and curse words, as April watched from a safe distance with a mix of mild bemusement and apprehension, wondering if she should do anything about it. Of course, this sort of thing was the order of the day at the lair. Casey just happened to get the short end of the stick today.

"Okay, guys…" she droned, taking a step back when one of them—it was hard to tell who—bumped against one of the stools with a loud _thunk_. The stool swiveled on one leg for a bit and eventually toppled to the floor. "You're going to break something." Oh, but why would they listen to her?

Donnie moved so fast that April couldn't even discern what was going on exactly. His long arms seemed near impossible to contain as they flailed constantly out of Casey's grip, until suddenly the backpack was in his hands like some sort of magic trick. Casey looked just as bewildered as she was.

"Dude, what you're doing is _stealing_!" he threw a hand at Donnie, but Donnie dodged it with a graceful spin worthy of a Michael Jackson music video.

"Robbery is a perfectly acceptable practice in the ninja's curriculum so long as it's for a just end," Donnie said, rotating to keep his shell to Casey as the kid hopelessly tried to reach around it. "And I can't think of a juster end than this."

"Give it back, you scrawny fart!" But Casey's famous street savvy just couldn't compete with Donnie's ninja robbery skills. Maybe after this he would agree to take a few lessons from Master Splinter, April mused.

"The hell's going on?" shouted a voice behind her, and she turned around to see Raph standing at the door, looking at the scene with a lopsided grimace. His gaze landed on April in search of answers as the horseplay continued, and she merely shrugged in defeat. At this point, there was a fifty-fifty chance that Raph's intervention would either help break up the fight or just add fuel to the fire, if he decided to join the fun. April was betting on the latter.

"Raph, help! Grab him!" Casey cried, having managed to grab one strap on his backpack, but his hand was trapped under Donnie's armpit, subject to his strong armlock.

"Hold on, I gotta hear his side too," Raph said calmly, as if what was going on was a mere political debate. He waited for his brother's argument with raised eyebrows.

"Casey's-first-name-isn't-Casey-but-he-won't-say-what-it-is-so-I'm-going-to-find-out," Donnie rattled in a single breath, tipping his chin towards the backpack being held tightly against his own plastron.

"Yeah, I gotta go with Donnie on this one, Case," Raph said through a big grin, sounding really interested. April facepalmed and let out a loud, groaning sigh.

"You _traitor_! You _ass_ turd!" Casey spat breathlessly as Donnie's grip slowly but inexorably dragged him downwards to the floor. His face was red with rage and April wasn't finding it so funny anymore. This was starting to go a bit too far even for these guys. Time to break it up.

She raised her voice over the shouting, once again feeling like everyone's mom, "Guys, that's enough!"

"Wait, I found it!" Donnie exclaimed, whipping out a tattered wallet as he suddenly let go of the backpack, causing Casey to stumble backwards a few steps before regaining his stance and bolting towards Donnie. But the turtle had surpassed Casey in height over the last few months and no matter how much the human tugged and hopped, the wallet was always just out of his reach. Donnie's nimble fingers opened and inspected the wallet for the right card.

"Guys, stop!" April insisted, but Donnie's expression told her he had found the jackpot.

"Wait, here it is!"

"It's Arnold, _okay_?" Casey yelled before Donnie could read the card and the scene froze like the digits on a deactivated time bomb.

"Arnold? That's the big reveal?" Raph said beside April with a look of disappointment. "I thought it was gonna be something like… I dunno, Hogarth, or Yanky."

"Eh, there's some pretty good jokes in Arnold, too," Donnie said through a satisfied smile, relinquishing the wallet back to its owner, who dejectedly snatched it out of his fingers.

Casey gave the front of his hoodie a firm yank and straightened his bandanna with a dignified huff. "If you dickheads are done making fun of me, I got things to do and scum to beat up."

April called after him, afraid he was angry for real this time. "Come on, don't be mad. They were just joking. And we're not done with _this_ ," she said, motioning at the pile of textbooks and papers splayed out over the table.

But Casey only kept walking past Raph, picking up the backpack on the way to the exit and yanking it on. "Well, _I_ am! I'm done with all of you and I'm done with _that_ crap. It's not like I was making any progress anyway," he fumed, apparently not even caring that he was leaving his textbook behind.

"Casey, wait!" Donnie called, and Casey stopped and turned, waiting. April looked on, hopeful, because it looked like Donnie was ready to apologize. But his eyes narrowed… "Hasta la vista, baby." His voice came out grave and manly—aided by the still present soreness of his bruised throat—and the two turtle brothers burst in loud laughter. Casey stormed off and Raph chased after him, still cackling loudly.

April wouldn't even attempt to catch up or try to bring him back, knowing it would be no use. Before their voices faded, she turned to Donnie and stared him down with severe eyes. His laughter died almost instantly, maybe because April was putting all her pent-up frustration into that look.

"What? We were just fooling around," he said, showing her his palms.

"It was mean," she corrected seriously.

Donnie looked taken aback. "It wasn't meant to be _mean_ , it was… We were just messing around, he always does way worse," he protested, throwing a hand towards the doors, but with a tinge of regret in his evaporating smile.

April hesitated, because her concerns went deeper than a stupid brawl between hormonal teenage boys. It wasn't easy to talk about. This little fight was just a small sample of the thing she was so afraid of: what would getting together with Casey do to their friendship?

It had seemed like a good, simple idea to finally give Casey the chance he'd been asking for since the day they met. She'd get to see if it lead to something good, and simultaneously ease her dad's concerns. That latter had backfired somewhat, but still, if Donnie wasn't an option, she couldn't think of anyone else that could be right. Granted, she barely knew anyone else outside their little clandestine group, but on the other hand she didn't want to have to hide her friendship with the turtles from anyone, much less a boyfriend, or she could end up distancing herself from them. So who better than Casey in that regard?

But now, seeing the way her two best friends got along without a relationship with Casey being an issue yet… Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea. Maybe she should put off that date...

Unable to explain to Donnie why something as silly as the same old fight would bother her so much, she started clearing up Casey's things from the table. "It's just… When you guys get like this… ugh! Seriously, you're _friends_! You're supposed to care about each other!" she said, and turned her eyes away when she saw Donnie peering at her with a deep frown. He looked so disconcerted.

She didn't want it to show, but she couldn't help it: the future haunted her. She'd been trying not to think too much about it, but the questions wouldn't stop, and they were all sadistically inquisitive.

Her usual confident self—which was annoyingly absent as of late—would say she was a little young to be thinking about her long term love life. She wasn't even 19, for Pete's sake! But what with her dad talking about her future, and how she should start looking ahead and thinking about her career and her objectives…

And now they were going to actually _meet_ their future face to face… It was like a _sign_. She wondered if the others thought about these things as well.

While she was putting Casey's things into her own backpack to give them to him later, she heard Donnie's footsteps coming up behind her. "April, you know us," he said in a soothing voice, bending so he was at her eye level and she had no choice but to look at him. It managed to help her resurface from her thoughts. "Fighting is kind of our thing. Doesn't mean I don't care about him."

She searched his chocolate eyes, earnest and sincere, taking a fleeting peek into his feelings for just a fraction of an instant. What she saw left her a little more at ease, but she couldn't rest assured quite yet. After all, he still didn't know that she and Casey had gone out and were probably going to go out again.

Donnie looked between her and the exit—Casey's and Raph's yells were still barely audible from the tunnels—and visibly deflated. He scratched his neck. "Look, I'll- I'll go apologize, alright? To be honest, Arnold really is only half as bad as Donatello." He said his own name almost in the same mocking tone that Casey had used, which was kind of endearing. "I'll get him back right now and we can all keep working on this until it's time to leave," he offered kindly, motioning towards the desk full of homework.

"That's alright," April said softly, slowly loosening the knot one loop at a time. "I don't think he could take another hour of this anyway."

Donnie scoffed, exasperation back in his eyes. But now April could hear genuine concern in his voice. "He's _got_ to get his act together or he'll never get that scholarship. And then what's he gonna do?"

"You think I don't tell him that?" She sunk down onto the stool with a long heavy sigh. As she started flipping through some pages she felt Donnie sitting down next to her.

"Don't worry, we'll try again later," he said, and it sounded like a promise. But she must not have appeared convinced, because a moment later she felt Donnie's touch on her shoulder. "I'm serious. Casey's not going to lose that scholarship if I have something to say about it! I'll chase him around with the textbook if I have to." When she smiled, Donnie continued with added fervor. "I'll hack into his phone and set up an alarm to go off every half hour and it will only shut down if he solves the equation on screen. He'll be so confused! He won't be able to hide from _me_!"

By the end of Donnie's promise, April was laughing heartily, a huge weight lifting from her chest. She nodded, this time with honest relief.

Before she could come up with a way to thank him, he said, "Come on, let's finish these pages. That way you can pester him too. You're a lot better at it than me anyway. At least he listens to _you_."

"Yeah, right," she chuckled sarcastically as they both sat back down at the desk and she opened her textbook while Donnie gathered all the stuff that she hadn't realized had fallen off the table during the fight.

She smiled, grateful and reassured that, despite all the teasing and bickering, Donnie cared about Casey and Casey cared about Donnie. If nothing else, the thought gave her hope that whatever she chose, they would always be there for each other. And for her.

* * *

Leo hummed in concentration and overlooked the battlefield, remembering the Sun Tzu teachings. He scanned the terrain for the optimal way across the foreign territory as his army awaited his orders. The enemy watched him and his men quietly from the other side, her own forces poised and eager for battle. He cast a careful glance at his foe and extended his hand, picking up one of the little blue marbles and moving it to the next dimple. Leaning back from the board, he waited for his turn.

"'Bout time," Karai said, making a very obvious effort to sound bored.

Leo shrugged it off and watched her take one of her red marbles and make it jump over another two, getting it half-way across the board.

He'd gotten this Chinese checkers set for their last Mutation Day, a gift from April, and this was his first game with Karai. They had been promised relative peace and quiet, Raph playing hermit in his room and Mikey busy with his video games as Donnie, April and Casey went about their study date. So, of course, roughly half an hour later a fight broke out behind the lab doors.

Leo shot a fleeting glare in said direction before placing his attention back on the board full of little marbles, intent on ignoring the rest of the world if only for a little while. Maybe they should've chosen his room, instead of the little corner by the kitchen.

So far Karai had more of her pieces in her triangle, but he had played Chinese checkers enough times to know things could still take an unexpected turn. Besides, he was playing the slow burn strategy, setting up his plan of action covertly until it was time, when it would be too late for her.

"So how are you liking the book I lent you?" he asked after a couple more turns in which he only seemingly appeared to accomplish nothing.

"It's good! The _ninja stuff_ is great," Karai mocked, referencing their conversation a few days ago at Murakami's, when Leo had talked about _Kōga Ninpōchō_ while pretending not to be interested in its Shakespearean love story. _I read it for the ninja stuff, not the romance_ , he had said.

He gave a hollow laugh, then picked up one of the pieces. He'd made it over a couple other pieces before the shouting and cackling from the lab intensified, and then out came Casey, stomping his feet and yelling profanities with Raph in his wake.

"Casey, come on, we were just messing around!"

"Shut up, Raph! You guys are such assholes!"

Leo called out to his brother when he saw them head for the exit, "Raph! Don't go too far. We have to go meet the Lotus in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you before," Raph said dismissively. "Hey, Arnie, wait up!" And he followed Casey past the turnstiles until they both disappeared down the tunnels, their voices taking a while longer to fade. Leo had no idea what that had been about, and wasn't all that interested either. Same old, same old...

"Anyway," he drawled, getting back to the matter at hand. Karai had already made her move, and it was his turn again. "What were _your_ favorite books as a kid?"

Karai shrugged. "Kids' stuff. I didn't read all this super deep stuff you read, Leo-chan."

Leo had never talked about Karai's childhood with her, so he didn't know what her home was like, her everyday family life, or if she had had any to account for. He couldn't really picture a children's library at the home of Oroku Saki, to be honest, and just the thought of him reading the adventures of Poofy Bunny to little Karai while wearing the kabuto was hilarious—and also kind of disturbing.

At any rate, she was hedging, and Leo took good note of it.

"Okay, but what were they _about_?" he insisted, pointedly keeping the subject on literature alone.

"Who cares, they were just stupid past-times, you know, to unwind," she said, shifting in her seat like she was uncomfortable. "You gonna go or what?"

Leo smiled before making his move on the board, certain he had found a topic of discussion to use against her: just the right amount of compromising. It would seem he was getting the hang of making her nervous.

"Then why won't you tell me what they were? I told you about what I used to read."

"There are no rules saying I have to reciprocate," she said smugly, her eyes moving around the board, her resolve still tough as steel. She was going to make him take out the big guns. Fine by him.

He found there was a special kind of pleasure in making Karai nervous, probably because normally it was the other way around. The other day in the dojo, there had been many things left hanging that still haunted him even now, while partaking in the seemingly innocuous activity that was Chinese checkers. But one thing he learned: it turned out sometimes you _could_ fight fire with fire, and he was willing to put that notion into practice.

He had a plan now, inside and outside the game board.

"You know, if you don't tell me, I'll assume it's something truly horrible..."

Karai made a noise of impatience in her throat.

"Fine," she said, then looked around the common room before leaning in over the board. "But you better take this to the grave, or I swear I'll give your mask a rainbow hippie dye."

He reeled, knowing Karai's threats were not to be taken lightly. "Alright, alright. I promise. Cross my shell and hope to die." He drew a cross over his heart and gave her a reassuring smile, happy that this was actually leading somewhere.

Karai took a deep breath. "I used to read this thing called 'Cherry Blossoms at Sunset'. Just during my free time between training sessions." Karai's voice was extremely casual as she reached for her piece, making it jump over two others and then waiting calmly for her next turn.

Leo moved his piece distractedly. "Wow. That sounds nice. What was it, like a haiku collection?"

"No…"

And since Karai didn't seem to want to continue, instead keeping her eyes on the board _pretending_ to think, he kept asking. "Tanka? A kabuki play?"

"No and… not that I know of…"

"Then what-"

"It was manga."

Leo's eyebrows sprung up, smile spreading wider and wider as Karai shot him a quick glance before taking her eyes back to the game. But Leo could already see her resolve starting to crumble, her smug grin a little lacking.

"Was it…?"

"Shōjo," Karai admitted finally, closing her eyes, and Leo covered his mouth pretending to try not to laugh. It had the desired effect as Karai glowered.

"What? What's wrong with shōjo?" she demanded, a little too loud, and she turned around to check that Donnie and April were still immersed in their own conversation inside the lab. "Shōjo stories can be very deep!"

"Maybe," Leo said, inhaling to shake off the laughter from his body. "But they tend to be a little…"

"A little what?" she challenged, arms crossed.

"A little corny." He grinned and she scoffed.

"Oh, what do you know! Have _you_ ever read any? Yeah, I didn't think so," she said without giving him time to answer as she moved one of her pieces across the board in five hops and got it all tucked in the farthest corner. Leo cocked his brows, impressed.

"I haven't actually read shōjo, okay," he admitted, picking up a blue marble and moving it one single spot. "But Mikey has, and he told me all about them, _obviously_. You know Mikey."

Karai released an amused giggle. "Mikey reads shōjo?"

Leo nodded. "So yeah, the stuff he told me… It gave me _cavities_."

"Shut up," Karai mumbled, but laughed under her breath and another marble clicked into place.

"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Leo sneered.

"Don't make me laugh."

"Oh, no, I'm the one who's laughing."

Karai sighed, and suddenly she looked serious, all trace of her usual cockiness gone from her downcast eyes, hands hidden under the table.

"Look, I was a kid, and my life was kinda bizarre," she explained, and Leo felt very compelled to stop teasing her and listen, because anything having to do with her past was like a shooting star: rare and fleeting. Getting Karai out of her comfort zone, giving her a taste of her own medicine; that was his little revenge. But he had to be careful. He wanted to tease her, not make her angry. _No one_ wanted to make Karai angry.

Well, maybe Raph…

"It was nice to imagine, you know, being a normal girl, going to school, crushing on cute guys, worrying about my grades of all things," she continued, and if he had had any hair, it would've stood on end, because as it turned out, using her own weapons against her was actually working. This new approach seemed to be offering Leo the insight that he had always strived for. He wanted to know her, wanted to dive into the vast, dark crevices of her mind, and she was leading him by the hand.

"I get it," he said truthfully, turning to a more gentle tone of voice, hoping that would coax her on. "I think Mikey likes it for similar reasons."

"And I know the stories could get extremely corny at times, yeah," Karai went on, no longer focusing on the board. "But they were a nice way to just… escape. My everyday life was already a lot like shōnen, I didn't need more of it."

He raised his hands. "It's not that shōjo is bad, it's just… I never put you down as the type. Seems so... out of character, for you," he sniggered.

Karai huffed. "See, this is why I don't tell people this."

Leo paused, because for a moment he thought he may have actually gone too far. But Karai grinned, and he felt himself full of new confidence. _What do you know_ , he thought.

"What's the matter, Karai? Afraid to show your sweeter side?"

"I do have a reputation to maintain," she said, and in her next turn she got another piece in the triangle. She was winning.

"Hey, you have a romantic side. I kinda like it, it's nice. Even I have a romantic side," Leo said, feeling a blush coming on.

"You? Please." She rolled her eyes, and for some reason Leo wanted to contradict her on that.

"Well, what about _Kōga Ninpōchō_?"

"I thought you only read that for the ninja stuff," Karai said, lifting one perfectly lined eyebrow.

"Well, you know… The romance stuff wasn't bad either," Leo admitted. He could swear the corners of her mouth had twitched for a second there, but she was keeping her eyes on the board.

"I also like that movie, _Crouching Tigress, Hidden Panda_ ," he added, a part of him screaming for him to stop giving himself away.

A loud guffaw was Karai's reply. "Okay, and what does that have to do with anything?"

"That's got romance in it!"

"And kicks to the face," Karai remarked. "No, it doesn't count. Plus, everybody and their grandma has seen that stupid movie."

And as she picked up another of her marbles and made her move, Leo smiled. There it was. Leo's moment. She'd fallen right into his trap.

He let out a low chuckle that seemed to get her attention. "Well, Karai," he said slowly, and witnessed the immediate effect of his change in tone in Karai's curious little frown. "I may not be the most romantic, but I know my strategy games."

And to prove it, he straightened up, cracked his knuckles, shot Karai a smug grin for emphasis and put the last phase of his scheme into action. The plan had worked, and Karai didn't seem to have seen it coming as Leo used his and her marbles as a road for his next piece, which made it all the way from one corner of the board to the other in a single turn.

He watched Karai for a reaction, but she only stared at Leo's heroic blue marble as though mentally adding it to her black list. She used her turn and then another one of Leo's marbles followed the first. And then another, and another.

Leo's pieces were slowly making their way across the board, one by one, taking advantage of Karai's troops, and already he was ahead of her. She gave an annoyed groan at her imminent defeat, and that's when he felt his entire body tense up.

When Karai lost a game, she didn't make a fuss. She didn't yell, or throw things or say "screw it, you cheated!" like Raph would. No, Karai was a lot scarier than that. Once the game was lost, she would just stare in silence, nod her head, give a little sigh— _oh well, what are you gonna do_ —, and then you could see it in her eyes, her plan for revenge slowly unfolding inside that treacherous head of hers, for next time. And if you were lucky, that next time would be another board game, or your mask could end up the color of the rainbow.

But Leo hadn't come all this way for nothing. He was one piece away from victory.

It was Karai's turn, and she stared long and hard, eyes flickering to and fro, lips pursed in deep concentration.

"Forget it, Karai. There's nothing you can do. It's over," Leo said as tauntingly as he could muster, and was rewarded with a very slow glare. Her lips parted into a sweet smile. Suddenly he felt a primal urge to flee.

"Yes it is, but not like you think," she said, then casually picked up a red marble. Leo looked on as she hopped it around, but instead of taking it towards her own red triangle, she made it jump over his only remaining piece and the red marble took its place in the last vacant blue dimple.

"What are you doing?" Leo gasped.

Karai looked at him glumly. "I had no choice."

The very sight of red among all that blue was making him itchy all over. No, that's not how you're supposed to play!

"I don't- You... You know you can't win like this either, right?" he complained desperately. "This is as much of a tactical step back for you as it is for me! Neither of us wins!"

Karai nodded solemnly, closing her eyes and sitting back on her chair. "The important thing is I have restored my honor," she said, and the only thing missing was a black crown on her head and green fire lighting her from below.

Leo honestly didn't know what to say. He grasped for a way to make her rectify so they could finish the game, but he knew that went against her principles. So, with a sigh, he finally gave. What else could he do?

He looked her up and down, then back at his poor little hero marble standing before Karai's red infiltrator with resignation, and shook his head sadly. "Next thing you'll be setting the board on fire."

Karai gave him a level stare. "If that's what it takes…"

"You're insane," Leo laughed, even though inside he was shaking, memories of the old Karai, vengeful and terrible, flashing through his mind.

* * *

 **What did you guys think? Wherever are we going with this?**

 **Remember reviews are writer chow!**


	16. Chapter 16

**The Lotus clan has a difficult proposal that is bound to shatter the Hamato's relative peace.**

 **Ooooooh oh you guys we're venturing deeper into the second act, this shit's getting intense!**

* * *

 **And in other news, THIS STORY HAS BEEN NOMINATED IN FIVE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES HOLY CRAP! We just wanted to say thank you all SO MUCH for reading and for all the wonderful reviews that make us so happy, and now thank you as well for all the awesome nominations. Love! *blow kiss***

 **Ghost of a Chance has been nominated for:**

 **-Best Action/Adventure**

 **-Best Comedy**

 **-Best Donatello**

 **-Best Canon Ally: Karai**

 **-Best multichapter**

 **And as always, another huge thank you to our wonderful betas, Queequegg and Theherocomplex. It wouldn't be the same without you guys^^**

* * *

A new gust of wind hit the roof and Leo's mask tails attacked his face, getting in his mouth. He spat and swat them away, praying nobody important had seen that.

The team arrived at the rendezvous point just after sundown, the same rooftop where they had met the Lotus the previous night. April and Casey had tagged along, refusing to miss it. Leo could trust April to be on her best behavior, but he had to give Casey a warning before allowing him to come.

The rooftop appeared empty, but Leo knew it was merely an illusion. He minded his posture because, knowing ninjas, he was probably being watched. There was a dull beep, and Donnie put away his tracking device. They'd brought it along just in case, but the thing had been silent the whole way there. Leo was beginning to think they would not be able to find that mutagen before the Purple Dragons, or someone worse, put it to use.

And of course the Lotus clan would wait until he was distracted with his own train of thought to show up. It was April's head-turn that tipped him off, and he looked over to see the entire clan standing to one side in the shadow of the big billboard, having seemingly materialized out of thin air.

Hachisu-no-Hana was the one to come forward, like the previous night, looking just as small and just as mighty. Behind him, Leo heard his team shift, and he gestured for them to stand down.

"It's an honor to see you again, members of the Hamato clan," she said with a brief bow, one that Leo mirrored. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donnie, Mikey and April do it too, but not Casey, Raph or Karai. Well, three out of six, that was something. "Although I cannot help but notice some new faces," Hachisu-no-Hana added. Surprised or suspicious, her stoic voice gave nothing away.

"Don't worry, Hachisu-no-Hana-san," Leo assured just in case, making a motion towards April and Casey. "They're friends of ours, they represent no threat. I vouch for them."

Hachisu-no-Hana nodded. "Then what is your sensei's response, Leonardo-san?"

He straightened up."Our sensei agrees to meet with you," he said, projecting his voice so that it sounded proud and strong. "But only you may come for now, accompanied by two of your men, if you wish."

"Did he rehearse this?" someone murmured behind him. Couldn't be anyone other than Raph. A low snicker followed it, definitely Karai's. Leo had to bite back a sigh. _At least they're getting along…_

"Very well," Hachisu-no-Hana said, and then her tone hardened slightly, enough that Leo could interpret that she wasn't talking to him. "Jiro. Atsuko." In a heartbeat, two ninjas stepped forward to stand beside their leader. "You will come with me."

"Hai, kashira," they said in unison.

Leo guessed that the other ninjas were speaking in English out of respect for him and his team. The gesture was appreciated, even when it wouldn't have mattered for any of the Hamatos, as they all understood Japanese just fine. Even April was picking up some of it, although Leo wasn't sure to what extent. Casey, on the other hand…

Hachisu-no-Hana then turned to look over her shoulder. Her feet hadn't shifted one bit since she arrived, body always facing Leo.

"Iwao," she said.

A robust, square-faced man replied, "Kashira?"

"You are in charge of the rest. Go and wait where I told you for our return."

"Hai, kashira," said the ninja called Iwao, and with a simple gesture he ordered the rest of the clan to move, following him into the night, silent and swift.

"We're ready, Leonardo-san," Hasu said, once the others had vanished.

"Alright. Follow us," Leo said, and started the trek back to the lair, stopping at the nearest appropriate manhole.

As the cover was being lifted, the three ninjas looked down through the wisps of vapor rising from the dark pit, then at Leo, as though wondering if he was joking. Ignoring the sliver of shame in his chest, Leo went in first to clear up any lingering doubts.

Once the last of them was underground, he retrieved three strips of fabric from his belt and approached the Lotus leader.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wear these," Leo said, apologetically handing her the blindfolds. He didn't feel comfortable asking such a thing, but it was a necessary precaution. He cringed a little inside when he saw the faintest tinge of uncertainty in Hachisu-no-Hana's stoic gesture, but she agreed to wear the blindfold and ordered the other two to comply as well. Leo promised to guide them safely, and offered his arm to Hachisu-no-Hana. Her touch was careful and timid on his skin, and he cleared his throat without wanting to.

Each Lotus member was assigned a seeing-eye turtle. Raph led the old man called Jiro. And young Atsuko… Well, Casey volunteered, eyebrows waggling, flashing his gap-tooth smile at the girl, who very graciously ignored it as she put on her blindfold. Leo couldn't help noticing the brief scrunching of April's face at that. He would've reacted the same way if he wasn't trying to give a proper impression. He might not get another chance at something as special as this. An alliance! With another ninja clan! It had to be _perfect._ He wanted to be able to look back on this with pride, and hopefully the least amount of embarrassment. So he asked Donnie to lead Atsuko instead, refusing to let Casey hit on one of their honored guests, and Atsuko strutted over to the tall brother with such confidence in her steps that nobody would ever guess she couldn't see.

Leo led the group through the labyrinthine sewers, using detours and turning them around on more than one occasion, so that even experienced ninjas like these would find it impossible to make their way back. It took forever, but eventually they arrived at the turnstiles, and walked past them to the common room where Splinter was waiting for them expectantly.

"You can take them off now," Leo said.

The three ninjas removed their blindfolds and their gazes were irrevocably—and quite understandably—drawn to the giant rat standing at the entrance wearing a kimono. Leo sometimes forgot just how bizarre his family was, and it was moments like these, in the few occasions that they got to meet new people and he saw the bewilderment, often terror, that he was reminded of that little fact. Like true Japanese, the Lotus had done a good job of hiding any discomfort until then, but not even the most austere of ninja could keep a straight face at first laying eyes on his rat father.

* * *

Splinter couldn't help but smile at the newcomers' momentary faces of shock. Highly improper, but who could blame them? He would stare at himself too...

"Welcome to our home, members of the Lotus. I am Hamato Yoshi, sensei of the Hamato clan," he said with a short bow of his head, in English so that no one would be left out—he would have time to practice his mother tongue later. _Over some tea, perhaps_ , he thought in delightful anticipation.

For a few moments, it appeared as though none of the guests would be capable of saying or doing anything, but then he saw something click in their leader's eyes and she finally came to, erasing all emotion from her gesture. Quickly, she took a step forward and bowed low before him, and her followers rapidly did the same.

"You are their sensei," Hachisu-no-Hana said, not so much a question as it was a realization—almost an apology, he would say, a trace of surprise in her otherwise unperturbed voice.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"I expected someone… Forgive me," she said, lowering her head again.

"That is quite alright," Splinter replied, holding up his hand and offering an understanding nod.

"You are very kind to allow us in your home. It's a great honor," Hachisu-no-Hana said.

 _This one is tough_ , he thought, admiring the fortitude that radiated from her aura—s _urely tempered by many thrashings. Like the finest katana_. But even in the coldness of her eyes he could see many questions, none of which she dared ask.

There was a general smell of distrust in the air, of doubted intentions. Behind Hahisu-no-Hana and her followers, Splinter's children and protégées stood silently. They looked between the Lotus and their sensei, each through their own lens. Michelangelo, his sweet, innocent Michelangelo, seemed completely at ease as he flashed a proud smile, like nothing made him happier than to show his new friends his home. In contrast, Raphael looked upon them with distrust, never taking his eyes off them, as though he were always expecting the worst—much like Miwa, in fact, whose hand, like Raphael's, was at the hilt of her weapon. Donatello seemed happy enough to give them a chance in that scientific spirit of his, and see what interesting developments resulted from this visit. April and Casey stood at the back, as if they didn't dare interfere.

And Leonardo… of course, Leonardo would be thrilled. It was as blatant as the pearly speckles on his face, as much as he tried to hide it. His son was on pins and needles, looking to and fro like it was all too much to take in at once. There was that shimmer in his eyes, the one he got whenever someone mentioned that Space Heroes cartoon that he liked so much.

Splinter turned his attention back to Hachisu-no-Hana, who seemed to still be battling curiosity with a deep-seated regard for the rules. He decided to be clear with her, and save her the turmoil.

"I know what you are thinking. How did the Hamato clan become _this_?" he said, motioning around the lair, to his family and himself, and immediately Hachisu-no-Hana lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Forgive me. I meant no disrespect," she said.

"On the contrary," Splinter replied, making sure to sound friendly. "I will be happy to explain over some tea, if you can spare the time. A daughter of the Lotus is always welcome in the home of the Hamato. Please, follow me, and you can tell me what has brought you here, so far from our homeland."

The three newcomers seemed doubtful for a moment, reaching down to unzip their boots and then looking around them for some proper place to put them.

Splinter smiled. "You may just leave them there," he told them, pointing to a place beside the turnstiles, and watched in bemusement as April fidgeted indecisively for a bit before doing the same. She left her boots next to the other three pairs and stood waiting with a side glance at the visitors.

With another motion of his hand, Splinter invited them all to follow him, and he started towards the dojo.

"I am sorry about the safety measures," he said over his shoulder. "You will understand the secrecy of our home is very important to us."

"I understand, Hamato-sensei," the leader of the Lotus conceded, her light steps close behind. She sounded sincere when she said, "Thank you for granting us the honor."

* * *

Everybody started climbing the stairs to the dojo, Splinter's sovereign figure leading the way. Everybody except April.

There was something; something Leo had said earlier that kept nagging at the back of her mind, keeping her from going up the steps with the group. He had referred to her and Casey as "friends". Was that all they were? Just allies? Had she been naive to think herself an intrinsic member of the clan—a sister? They had been left behind countless occasions after all. That _ninjas-only_ trope had been the cause of a lot of frustration and doubt for her.

She was probably reading too much into this, but Casey appeared hesitant as well. Everything seemed so formal, so… foreign, in a sense, that she suddenly felt like an alien where she had always felt at home. Would they be welcome up there? Was this also ninjas only? Only Hamatos allowed?

"Maybe we should stay outside," she said just as Leo passed them by—a test.

Leo halted for an instant, looked at her pensively, then nodded. "Alright, see you later."

She would be lying if she said that hadn't stung just a little bit.

"Yep, I guess we should," she muttered.

Casey stood next to her looking up at the group of people going up the steps, a slight grimace on his face. Maybe he felt the same way...

"Forget that," he huffed, waving his hand dismissively. "This sounds like some ultra boring ninja crap gonna go down in there."

Or not...

She sighed, watching the last of the ninjas disappear beyond the archways to the dojo. And on top of everything, she was getting a bad headache.

Hoping she didn't have the flu, or something, she turned around to join Casey at the pinball machine.

* * *

The dojo had probably never looked more beautiful, and that was saying something, all modesty aside. He had tidied up for this special occasion, beating the carpets with the help of his children so that the colors were brighter than ever; he had placed a myriad of candles strategically around the room, framing the paper panes to provide some extra dramatism to the epic tales illustrated there. Even the tree appeared more grand, with the orange light shining off its leaves. Splinter couldn't help but watch the faces of their guests as they entered the room looking all around, lifting their noses to the delightful aroma of freshly made tea and mochi. They had even managed to reduce the smell of sweat that usually permeated the dojo considerably, after many scented candles. It wasn't everyday that they had such special company over.

"Where's April and Casey?" Donatello asked as he joined his brothers and sister, bringing that little detail of the kids' absence to Splinter's attention.

"She said they'd rather stay outside," Leonardo said, shrugging. Splinter found it a little odd that April would want to miss this.

"What a wonderful place, Hamato-sensei," the oldest of the Lotus trio said delightedly, bringing Splinter's mind back into the room. The man's eyes were already intent on the trays full of cups and sweets.

"And that tree is truly majestic," the young girl said in a small voice full of wonder, and Splinter beamed inside.

"Thank you. Pardon me, what do I call you?" he asked politely.

The Lotus leader straightened up. "This is Jiro, and Atsuko," she said, and the old man and the girl nodded in turns. "I am Hachisu-no-Hana."

Splinter bowed his head. "Please have a seat. Help yourselves to whatever you like," he offered, signalling to the group of cushions, distributed in two lines facing each other with one cushion for each leader in front, and set out to prepare the tea. The man called Jiro practically bolted for the trays with a _don't-mind-if-I-do_ look on his face, and served himself a nice plate-full before going to sit behind his kashira, who watched with the slightest press of her lips. The young woman named Atsuko giggled under her breath and she, the turtles and Miwa all took their own seats, while Splinter served their tea one by one.

"Your home really is full of hidden marvels, Hamato-sensei," Hachisu-no-Hana said pensively, still looking around and paying special attention to the tree.

"We make do," Splinter said modestly, but felt his chest swelling with pride. "Tell me, Hachisu-no-Hana. You are the daughter of Tarō and Riko?"

"Yes," she said, looking surprised that he should know that, head tilting ever so slightly.

"I knew them. I fought beside your father on two occasions. After that, we became friends. We were so young. I remember your mother and father bickered all the time back then. Just like siblings to bully each other on a daily basis," he added, turning to look at his children. His words had the expected effect on Leonardo, a crinkle of confusion between his brows. The others may or may not have noticed, but didn't show half as much expectancy. Miwa looked rather unimpressed, and Michelangelo didn't seem to have heard anything strange at all. Splinter reserved a proper explanation for later and continued, "That was, of course, before they fell in love."

"They told me stories," Hachisu-no-Hana said. "I had never met with a Hamato before, but I knew that if the Lotus needed help, your clan was the one to go to. We were very surprised, and happy to find it was still alive, and thriving. We all thought you were dead. The word was that there had been a revolt, lead by Oroku Saki."

Even after all these years, and all the times he had retold the same story, Splinter still felt a pang in his heart.

"Yes… Nearly eighteen years ago now," he explained, forlorn. "I was the only one left. That is why I am here. After Oroku Saki's betrayal, I fled to New York."

He then told the Lotus the same tale he had told his children time and again since they were toddlers, of how that canister of mutagen had changed him and his four newly-bought turtles forever. The Lotus knew about the aliens, of course; the whole world knew about the invasion of New York, so the name Kraang was familiar. Apparently the rumors of mutant monsters running around the city had reached Japan as well. Splinter's story only confirmed the way the two were connected.

After a few minutes in which the three guests stared in awe, he finished. "I taught my children everything they know, so that the Hamato clan could live on."

"Fascinating story, Hamato-sensei," Jiro said before taking another sip of his tea.

Splinter smiled gratefully. "Which brings us to our next question. What brought _you_ here?" he asked gently, and with honest interest. He already had his suspicions, and though he had been eager to welcome the Lotus clan in spite of it, he had also feared having to let them down.

Hachisu-no-Hana nodded and sat up straight on her heels. "Hamato-sensei, we have come to put an end to the Shredder."

He remained quiet, listening for any reaction from his children. Without looking, he listened most intently for Miwa. But there was only ringing silence.

"Put an end to the Shredder, you say," he repeated at length.

"That is right, Hamato-sensei. The Foot is the cause of much grief in our clan, now more than ever with Oroku Saki as leader. Because of him our brothers and sisters are dead, our home burned to ashes. That is why those of us who are left have vowed to shed his blood, to honor the memory of the fallen, and present his head to their graves... or die trying."

Hachisu-no-Hana paused, as if waiting for Splinter to speak, but went on when he stayed silent.

"Your clan has suffered as much as ours. We have a common enemy. That is why we have come to ask for your help in defeating the Shredder, once and for all. It would be a great honor if the Hamato clan and the Lotus clan would once again fight beside one another. For the lost."

Splinter closed his eyes. So, it was _exactly_ as he had feared. This time he could not help turning to look back at his family; every one of his children returned his gaze. He could sense the unease that had taken hold of them. They were waiting for his answer. And among all the gazes, ranging from exaltation to worry, there was Miwa's. The expression on her face was difficult to read. Out of all of them, she seemed the most serene. But that only worried Splinter more.

For once, no imminent threat seemed to be casting its dark shadow over the heads of his family. But Splinter knew this could not last. It never did. If they hadn't seen the Shredder in months, ever since they managed to get Miwa back from him, it did not mean he had accepted his defeat. Not a day went by that Splinter didn't dread his return, and whatever new and terrible means he had contrived to destroy them… and to get Miwa back.

Splinter did not rush an answer, but took in a long, soothing breath before addressing the Lotus again.

"You are familiar with the history of the Foot clan," Splinter said calmly, steeling himself as he faced their leader. It was never easy revisiting these memories. "Oroku Saki was, for all intents and purposes, my brother," he continued, because this was a part of their history almost nobody knew. "And I loved him as such. Until he found out about his true heritage. The Foot clan, his clan of origin, had been eradicated by the Hamato under the rule of my father. When he learned this, a lust for vengeance gripped his heart. He killed the man who had raised him as a son in cold blood. And he would have killed me too, but as chance would have it, I made it out unscathed. To this day, his thirst for revenge remains unsatisfied. It seems each day that passes he has more reasons to hate me." The Lotus warriors listened intently, seemingly enthralled by the story. Splinter cast a side glance at Miwa, whose eyes were fixed on the rug before her.

"All the more reason why he must die," Hachisu-no-Hana said.

"Please," Splinter murmured, vaguely aware of a dull throbbing in his forehead. He closed his eyes, trying to will the nuisance away, before continuing. He needed to make them understand. "This chain of betrayals and vendettas extends far beyond Oroku Saki. For it to stop, someone must break the chain. That is why, after having lost everything, I came here, to New York: to start a new life. And even after what first seemed like a horrible accident, I found four very good reasons to live again." He motioned behind him at his children, wishing he could look at them so he could see the same four radiant smiles that meant the world to him.

"I would never have gained this had I remained another link in the chain. And with time, destiny even brought back the daughter I thought I had lost," he continued with another motion at Miwa, but her face was as emotionless as a stone mask. Not taking his attention from his daughter, hoping to see some kind of acknowledgement, he went on, "So you see, it was vengeance that took away everything that I knew and loved. So I do not believe in it."

Splinter took a moment to assess his new headache, which was rapidly blossoming. A little absentmindedly, and seeing how he was getting nothing from Miwa, he let his eyes drift back to the strangers. Disappointment ghosted around the group like a cold mist.

"If you need shelter and rest, I offer you my home, in honor of the old friendship that bonded the Lotus and the Hamato. But no member of this clan will fight beside you when you exact your vengeance."

Hachisu-no-Hana, who had been sitting almost as quietly as Miwa all this time, had her hand on her sash, cupping her side. She seemed distracted, a thin wrinkle on her brow.

"Are you hurt?" he asked when he noticed, and she seemed confused for a moment.

"Not at all," she replied at last, hand drifting back down to rest at her thigh. Then she leaned forward in a deep bow that was mimicked by her two followers, all masters of temperance.

Meanwhile, his headache was getting worse, head buzzing like a struck gong, and he had to repress the urge to rub at his throbbing temples as he bowed back. He found himself wishing for the visitors to leave the dojo soon, when originally he had been so keen to have them.

"I understand your decision, Hamato-sensei," Hachisu-no-Hana said. "It's a pity that we won't be able to fight side by side this time. But we gladly accept your offer of hospitality. I promise on my honor, we will protect your secret with our lives."

Splinter nodded, and just the slight movement made his head pulse. "Then we will arrange for the rest of your clan to join us here," he said, finding it harder and harder to hide his discomfort, and directed his next words at the boys. "Leonardo, Donatello. Please guide our guests back to their comrades, and escort them all here."

His two sons said at once, "Hai, sensei."

Jiro cast a last glance at the left-over mochi, seemingly regretful, and followed his other two comrades out.

When the three guests exited the room lead by his two sons, he couldn't hold back a sigh of relief as immediately he felt the pressure on his head subside.

Something wasn't all right about Hachisu-no-Hana. It wasn't that _she_ seemed wrong, not at all; it certainly wasn't a matter of trustworthiness, or he would never have offered his lair to her. There was simply… an aura around her. It was so faint he could barely sense it at a conscious level, so much that he hadn't noticed it until now. But it was there, softly curling its dark, grimy tendrils around his mind. Splinter only felt the deepest sympathy because she had to carry such burden.

 _Tea. Tea should help,_ he thought as he leaned forward to serve himself another cup which he hoped would ease the headache **.** In fact, he was going to need a lot of tea when Raphael was done here. His burly son stood to one side, obviously waiting for the Lotus to be out of earshot to tell him how much he disapproved.

Sure enough, as soon as it was clear that Donatello and Leonardo had led the three Lotus members out to the tunnels, Raphael stepped up. "Sensei-"

But before he could say more, Miwa shot up from the side suddenly kneeling before Splinter, surprising even him.

"Father. You must reconsider," she said, and even though her demeanor was docile, her voice was most demanding. Splinter knew exactly what she wanted, and it took a great deal of effort to hold her gaze.

"I have made my decision, Miwa," he said slowly.

"But you're wasting the perfect opportunity to finish the Shredder! When are we going to get help like this again?"

"Perhaps you weren't listening when I explained to Hachisu-no-Hana," he said in his warning voice, the voice he used when he wanted to bring a certain topic to an end. It usually worked wonders. But Miwa was not backing down.

"I heard perfectly," she spat, stubborn. This time her voice hummed with contained rage and Splinter tensed.

"Jūbun da!" He said, loud and stern, letting the whole weight of his authority fall on his daughter. His temples gave a disorienting throb at the effort, but he held her gaze firmly until she backed down and her head fell in a show of submission. He had never had to impose himself with Miwa before and it pained him having to do it now, when usually she appeared to hold him in such high regard. But she had a very obstinate, very harmful idea in her head that Splinter needed to prove wrong, for her sake.

He waited a few seconds, looking down on Miwa's slumped shoulders.

"If you heard, then you already know why I made this decision. You _know_ , better than anyone, my daughter!"

But Miwa retorted, head still low, "What about our honor? What about mother? Doesn't she mean anything to you anymore?"

"Do you think murdering Oroku Saki will bring her back? That his blood will erase the suffering he has caused us?"

"It will end it!" Miwa all but yelled, eyes back on Splinter, sharp as knives. "Every day that Shredder lives on, is an insult!"

"Miwa!" Splinter raised his voice, if only to make her hear him. "Listen to you, my daughter! Look at what that man and his foul ideals have done to you!"

Miwa reeled as though his words had cut right through her.

"Father!" she said, glassy eyes full of pain and rage. Michelangelo let out a weak gasp, looking from them to the exit to Raphael, as though debating whether to leave or not. Splinter went on quickly, unable to see that look on any of them. His headache had finally settled as a muted pain behind his eyes.

"I know I cannot protect my children from all the evils of the world. That is why you train. That is why you are ninja. But I will not send you to die for something as futile as honor."

Miwa looked appalled. "How… how can you say that!"

"Do you know what is truly honorable? Leading a life of peace and integrity, being able to live unwavering under such precept. What is hard is learning to forget, to _forgive_."

Miwa scoffed, and before she could protest, Splinter continued. "And even I cannot forgive Oroku Saki for all the damage he has done, as hard as I have tried. But if I yield to these feelings of hatred, I am allowing him to rule my life, to destroy me even as he sits alone in his throne. That is what he is doing to you now, my daughter!"

She leaned forward, eyes almost beseeching. "If he was dead, you would be free of that! We would all be!"

"One is never free of vengeance. It latches on to your heart with its pernicious roots. It is never truly satisfied." Splinter shook his head slowly, for that was one thing she needed to understand: she was wrong. "You are speaking out of hatred, not reason," he tried to explain, calmly. "We will fight the Shredder when we _must_ , and he may die that day by our blades. But not before." He looked into her eyes. "Never like _this_."

He watched his daughter, her bitter grimace, and for the first time in months he saw Karai.

She gave him a level glare, all trace of her respect for him gone. "So that is what we're gonna do. Hide in our little shelter of denial until Shredder finds us and erases us from the map."

"Miwa..."

"No! It's your turn to listen! Hiding and waiting here, pretending like nothing's up should not be an option for any ninja clan worth its name, father! We go out and we _fight_ , and if we die then we will die with our head held high, not hiding in the ground like..."

She didn't end the sentence, breath held in a muted stutter.

"Rats?" Splinter finished for her, looked up at her in the frigid silence. She stared back, unyielding. He was sure she was prepared to challenge him. So he only lowered his eyes sadly.

Splinter caught a flash of yellow in his peripheral vision and turned to see April in the doorway, timidly eyeing the scene, her brow wrinkled in concern.

"I am sorry you see it that way, Miwa."

A beat.

"So am I, father," she said above him, ice cold, before marching off. She stepped out, passing by April without a fuss, but left behind her a trail of sour silence, tea getting cold in Splinter's hands, his head pounding. He felt a breach had torn open between him and his daughter. A deep gorge framed by unscalable walls.

That she wouldn't always agree with him was to be expected, but to this day she had respected him and his word devotedly. This was the first time she had gone against him, something he hadn't foreseen. Now he knew; she had been holding back. All this anger, all this hatred…

Raphael was standing to one side, arms crossed, looking a little shocked and slightly frustrated. His fingers drummed on his arm, mouth twisted in a thoughtful grimace, but he didn't say anything.

"Something you would like to add, Raphael?" Splinter asked softly.

Raphael looked up and his features softened. "No, sensei." For once, it seemed he did not want to add more fuel to the fire.

A light pressure on Splinter's shoulder tore him from his volatile train of thought and turned to see Michelangelo looking down at him with two big round eyes. It wasn't that long ago that he was little and the rumbling of thunder would compel him to venture across the lair alone, coming in Splinter's room to snuggle against his fur. Now _he_ was offering his comfort. _So determined_ , Splinter thought as he smiled. Family arguments had always seemed to affect him most, and would always go above and beyond to try to make it all better.

"It's gonna be okay, sensei. I'm sure Karaiwa will come around."

A tiny laugh hit Splinter's throat at the name Mikey had come up with for his daughter. It would seem it was more appropriate than anyone realized, he thought, wondering if he would ever get his Miwa back whole, or if some part of her would always belong to the Shredder.

He stood, wrapped his arms around his son and gave his shell a soft pat, and Michelangelo in turn hugged him tight. It still amazed Splinter how strong he had gotten over the years, and in a sudden flash of awareness, he realized he hadn't spent even a fraction of that time with his daughter. How could he expect her to be anything like himself?

"I'm sure you are right, my son," he said still, and smiled in spite of the knot in his chest.

* * *

 **My, my, my... We are so excited to show you guys what's coming.**

 **What do you think so far?** **Remember, reviews are writer chow! 3**


	17. Chapter 17

**Following Splinter's and Karai's argument, Mikey sets out to cheer everyone up like only he knows how.**

 **This is a Mikey chapter, so it's gotta be fun (/OvO)/**

 **As always, a humongous thank you to our beta readers, Queequegg and Theherocomplex, who make it all so much better!**

* * *

Mikey squirmed with uncontrollable curiosity, wanting nothing more than to go meet the cool ninjas setting up camp in their living room. Once Leo and Donnie had made it back with the rest of the Lotus clan, the newcomers laid down their luggage at the farthest corner of the room, unrolling their sleeping bags and going to the bathroom in turns to change into their casual clothes.

They didn't arrive with blindfolds on like they had the first time, seeing as though they would be actually living there, and Hachisu had turned out to be cool. As soon as the new ninjas entered the lair, their eyes had started flying all over the place. With a tingle of pride, Mikey noticed the younger ones seemed particularly interested in the pin-ball machine, their tire swing and their box full of old VHS tapes and vintage videogames. Their eyes flew about like they were on a tour in the Museum of Reverse Tomorrowland—Retro-morrowland! —which, honestly, they kinda were.

These people were all manners and head bows, and they kept thanking Splinter and everyone for letting them stay there. All the while, Mikey watched the bustle, each time shuffling a little closer to a group of kids. He was about to introduce himself and offer to show them all their cool stuff when Leo summoned him, and he had to walk away.

With a disgruntled sigh, Mikey joined his brothers, April and Casey by the kitchen, where they wouldn't be in the way of the other clan's activities. Leo was super keen on not bothering any of them. But the stash of mutagen was still missing, and the Lotus clan could know something about it. Mikey had no choice but to wait with the others until their mysterious leader lady was free to talk.

They'd started referring to Hachisu-no-Hana as Hachisu for short, just among them, even though Leo bitched about it at first. He thought they'd get used to the short version and it could slip out accidentally. But it ended up sticking, for the same reason that anyone ever hardly called Mikey Michelangelo besides Master Splinter, and that's just cause sensei always spoke like he was in an epic fantasy movie anyway.

After Hachisu had had her pee break—which took a while because there were like fifteen of them and only one bathroom—Leo gave a nod and they moved in. They asked her if she knew anything about the mutagen and what the Purple Dragons planned to do with it. But because nothing was ever that easy, _ever_ , not even the badass ninja boss seemed to have much of a clue.

"We saw them leave with some crates, in a van, the night we saw you at the warehouse. But we could not follow," the Lotus leader said, and Mikey heard Leo sigh. They were still pretty much at a loss. And Mikey was _so_ not looking forward to more running around the city like a headless chicken.

"We suspect the Shredder might be involved," Donnie added, taking a step forward to stand next to Leo. His comment seemed to get Hachisu's attention, her dark eyes suddenly alert.

"Then we will find out, no doubt. We will be watching the Foot clan closely," she said firmly after a brief pause, in that epic leader voice of hers. Mikey grinned to himself thinking Leo was probably taking mental notes. She then added, "I'm sorry we cannot be of more help," and they all agreed to keep an eye out and inform each other of any news.

Hachisu went back to her clan, which by now was settled in their own little indoor camping site, but without the tents or the campfire. And when Leo wasn't looking, Mikey hurried over to one of the younger-looking ones in the group with a big welcoming smile, determined to make some new friends if it killed him.

"Yo, watashi wa Michelangelo! Videogames shimasu ka?" he offered. The kid left his bag and turned to face him, looking at him a little weird—probably didn't expect him to know Japanese, Mikey thought proudly— but nodded when he saw the T-phone.

They got to play a bit of Bird Rage, and Mikey thought they were really hitting it off, even when the kid —Wakai, was it?— looked like he only understood half of what Mikey was saying. But then one of the elders, an old-ish guy with a big square face full of scars, called out, "Wakai! Don't be lazy, go buy the food with the others!"

Mikey threw him a sideways glare. "Man, what's with Brick-Face?" he whispered to Wakai while the man was busy grumbling to himself. He could swear the dude was talking shit about technology and T-phones too, and saying something about ninja values in his super thick Japanese.

"I have to go," Wakai replied in pretty decent English, bowing while handing him back the phone with regret in his face. Bummed that that was over so quickly, Mikey, watched the kid get up to rejoin his group, which was putting on some backpacks to go out.

Mikey then shuffled his way over to where Leo and Donnie were standing, a little worried that he may have gotten his new friend in trouble. His brothers welcomed him with looks of disapproval, which didn't help one bit.

"Dude, you speak Japanese like Google Translate," Donnie said, cringing.

"Yeah, and I told you not to bother them, Mikey. They're here for very serious business," Leo said in his Captain Party-Pooper voice.

Mikey shrugged, not really sure what he meant by that; Brick-Face seemed like a total downer, but he'd been getting along awesomely with the Lotus kid. "I was just being friendly. Oh, by the way, bros! Movie night tonight, remember?" he exclaimed, all other concerns easily put aside at the prospect.

Leo's lip quirked, unconvinced, as he looked at the guest clan. "The Lotus are taking up half the common room."

"So what's the problem? We'll just watch it in my room! I'll send a mass text to the Hamato network."

Before Leo could say anything else, Mikey pulled out his T-phone and typed.

 _ **OrAnGeCrUsH:**_ _Movie night in my room, bros and sisses! 8DDD_

He made sure Karai would get the message too, hoping she wasn't too angry to watch a movie with them. She hadn't come out of her room since her fight with sensei. With all this commotion, he'd managed to forget for a while, but the new reminder twisted his insides with worry. Maybe a little movie-night fun would lift her spirits, he thought, mentally high-fiving himself for the idea.

For additional good vibes, he attached a picture of a cat lying on its back with a humongous bowl of popcorn between its legs that he'd found online earlier, and hit send.

Half an hour later, the TV set was hooked up and Mikey's room was starting to fill with people as Mikey prepped the movie. The VCR swallowed the tape with a clunky gulp. Donnie, April, Raph, Casey and he were waiting for Leo, when there was a dull thunk on the door and everyone went quiet. The knob wobbled for a bit, stopped and wobbled again, and Mikey felt his own mouth stretch wider and wider.

"No, please, don't anybody help me out," Leo said above all the laughter while his silhouette, visible through the translucent glass on the door, tried to turn the knob with a shoulder, then a foot.

"Whatever you say, chief! You're doing great," Raph hollered from his seat, not moving one inch.

The door opened before April could fully stand up to go help. But instead of Leo's foot—or elbow, or any other body parts—it was Splinter's claw on the knob.

"Thanks, sensei," Leo said, appearing through the doorway loaded with three bowls of popcorn the size of barrels and a bag of candy under his chin.

"Movie night?" Splinter asked with a friendly smile as Leo put down his load.

"Yep. Wanna join us, sensei?" Mikey said, patting the already-crowded bed. "It's a ninja movie! You might like it."

Splinter showed them his palm. "No, thank you."

Mikey would have been disappointed if he'd been expecting any different; Splinter almost never joined them on movie night. But Mikey couldn't help wondering if he was also upset over his fight with Karaiwa. He watched and listened closely, trying to tell, which was sometimes hard with sensei.

"Did you talk to Karaiwa?" he ventured.

Behind him, Raph made a sound in his throat. "Can you stop calling her that? I'm pretty sure it's a form of bullying."

"It's not, 'cause she _likes_ it," Mikey retorted, showing him his tongue, then turned back to wait for Splinter's answer.

Splinter lowered his head, and his whiskers twitched ever so slightly. If Mikey had to guess, sensei's answer wasn't going to be all that cheerful.

"No, I have not talked to her. It is best she comes out in her own time. Do not dwell on this, my son," he added kindly. "Arguments are part of being a father; it is a tool of the trade. You boys are no walk in the park either," he added with a tiny smirk.

Mikey agreed, and glanced around the room at his brothers. Both Leo and Donnie had missed the fight between Karaiwa and sensei, and judging by their faces, they were wondering what this was all about.

"Did you invite her to your movie night?" Splinter asked.

"Of course!" Mikey said at once and showed him his T-phone, although so far there was no sign that she had even seen the text. He thought about texting her again, or even knocking on her door, but like sensei had said, maybe it was better to leave her alone. This reminded him of the beginning, when she was new at the lair and spent all that time in her room. None of them would disturb her then, and it became a kind of unwritten rule that when her door was closed, the room might as well be empty. Or radioactive. It was kinda funny how she and Raph had so much in common sometimes. Maybe that's why they didn't get along...

"Good! She can use the entertainment," Splinter replied, and Mikey was relieved to see that fatherly smile back on his face. As long as sensei was smiling, all was well. "Don't make too much noise. Our guests will want to rest."

He turned to leave, but Leo said, "Speaking of guests, sensei, I was wondering… I'm confused about something you said earlier." Splinter halted on his way out and raised his bushy eyebrows, hand on the knob, waiting for Leo's question. "...about Hachisu-no-Hana's parents."

"What about them?" Splinter grinned, and Mikey pricked up his ears, because Leo was totally fidgeting.

"Well, you said you used to know them, and that they fought like siblings… because they _were_ siblings?" Leo asked finally in that fake casual tone he never mastered.

Splinter looked like he was thinking for a few seconds, then said, "Ah, I think I know what you mean. Yes, they were siblings—although they were also _not_."

Leo's brow was wrinklier than an accordion. "Uh…"

Mikey looked around at his other brothers, just to make sure he wasn't the only one not getting it. How could two people be siblings and at the same time not be siblings? And then go and marry each other? To his relief, almost everybody wore the same expression, all waiting for Splinter to go on with his story. The only one who already looked as amused as sensei was Donnie, but… Well, Donnie was _Donnie_.

"You see, in the more traditional Japan, it was common for a male, of any age, to be adopted into a family, when there were no males to carry on the family name. And though it is not necessary in a ninja clan, they decided to do this with Hachisu's father. He was not born in the Lotus Clan; he was of an allied clan that was decimated. After his real parents died in combat, he was taken in by Hachisu's grandparents. However, while he and Hachisu's mother carried the same family name, they were never really siblings, and deep down they never thought of each other as such. And so when they got older, they married. I will go meditate now," Splinter said, without so much as a breath between topics. "Have fun. But don't make too much noise," he repeated.

Everybody chorused, "Hai, sensei!" and just like that Splinter was gone, swinging the door closed behind him.

Mikey stared after him, racking his brains trying to figure out what part of what sensei just said was so funny that Raph, Casey and Donnie started whooing and cackling once he was out of earshot, and April's freckled cheeks were bunched up by a naughty grin. Leo's lips were pressed into a thin line as Raph elbowed him in the arm, hard.

"What?" Leo gritted out, fists tight.

"Oh, nothing…" Donnie said, leaning back towards April, and they both looked like they were just _loving_ this.

 _Let's see, they were talking about siblings, and Hachisu's parents being… Oh, wait, that was it, wasn't it?_ The light came on, so _finally_ Mikey could join in the wisecracking.

"Ooooh, Leo, 'cause you and Karaiwa are siblings, but not _really_!" he sang, wiggling his fingers.

"Shut up, you guys!" Leo shushed them, shooting nervous glances at the door. "And what was that thing about Karaiw- about Karai and sensei? What happened?"

"Yeah, did we miss something?" Donnie asked, and Leo looked relieved that his change of subject had stuck. Mikey saw Donnie turn to April to see if she knew anything about it. April obviously knew, since she had been there when it happened. But she didn't say anything and instead looked at Raph as if she didn't want to be the one telling it.

"Karai went after Splinter for not helping the Lotus defeat the Shredder," Raph explained. "She told him we should take the opportunity, Splinter didn't agree and... well, she took it badly."

"Badly? I heard it all the way from the pinball machine," Casey contributed. "Dude, she was _vicious_."

"Yeah, even _they_ think so," Mikey said, pointing a thumb at the pair of hot-heads sitting shoulder to shoulder against the bed. Raph had confronted Splinter—and pretty much everybody else—many times. But even then it never got to this level of serious. Mikey thought back to the awful silence that had followed Karaiwa's words, and felt a renewed impulse to go talk to his sister.

There was a pause as Leo and Donnie looked at each other.

"What… what else did she say?" Donnie asked slowly.

Raph and Mikey told them as much as they could remember, since their brothers kept asking for the details. At the end, Leo and Donnie exchanged another look and Leo gave him a little nod.

"Listen, guys, we didn't want to be pessimistic about this, but Future Donatello said something that could, _theoretically,_ be related," Donnie said, and his suspiciously casual tone sent another wave of concern slithering through Mikey's guts.

"What, D? What is it?" he demanded, already getting a really bad feeling about the whole thing.

"Well, he said, and I quote, 'tell Karai to stay put'."

"Stay _put_? The hell does that mean? Where is she going?" Raph exclaimed impatiently.

"You think they were talking about the Lotus?" April asked, her eyes worried. "She did say she wanted to go with them."

"But that would be going against Splinter's orders. She's _never_ gone against Splinter's orders," Leo said, though it sounded more wishful than convincing. "Besides, Future Donatello did kind of… shrug it off. He just said she should be here when they came."

"To be precise, he said they 'wouldn't want her to miss it'," Donnie specified, lifting one finger.

"That's weird," April said with a frown.

"We thought so too, but there's really no reason to believe it's something serious. They wouldn't have been so vague if it was," Leo said, and glanced at Donnie. "We didn't want to worry everyone, so we thought we'd—" he motioned between Donnie and himself "—just keep an eye on her. Just in case..."

Mikey looked around the room at the sullen faces and creased brows. The atmosphere was rapidly snowballing downhill. That would not do.

Shaking off his own agitation, he took a deep breath, arming himself with mighty determination, and climbed on the bed. "Well, now we can _all_ keep an eye out," he said to the whole room, trying to sound strong and peppy. The group was in serious need of pep. He boomed as though he was sending his troops out to war, "Nothing bad's gonna happen to our big sister, 'cause we're gonna take care of her! And we're going to _be_ there for her!"

"Alright, Mikey!" Casey cheered from the floor, shooting his fist into the air and flashing his checkered smile.

Motivated, Mikey whipped out his nunchucks, gave them a few epic twirls and struck a pose. "Whether it's mutant squirrels from another dimension or mushroom men from beyond Venus, no one will get past us!" he exclaimed.

Raph groaned, "Okay, we get the gis-"

"Because family," Mikey continued, cutting him off, "family is precious! Like one of those rare gems in ancient tombs that are guarded by a bunch of skeleton warriors, and when you get it, you level up, and earn special abilities..." It was half way through his speech that Mikey realized the parallels between family and a gem had ended a while ago. And judging by all the crooked stares from his audience, it was probably time to stop. "Okay, bad metaphor, but you get the point, right?"

April was the first to say with a loving smile, "Sure, Mikey. We're all with ya."

Raph scoffed to the side, and Casey sniggered, but everybody was at least grinning now, which was a success by Mikey's book. He puffed his chest proudly. "Yeah, that's right," he proclaimed, and got down from the bed like he'd just leveled up from finding one of those gems. "Now, how 'bout that movie?"

"Oh, right, it's been so long I forgot that's what we were doing," Raph droned as he got to his knees and started looking around the bowls of popcorn "Leo, where's my licorice?"

Leo seemed lost for a moment, then his expression lit up. "Oh," he said, and reached into the space below his upper plastron like a pocket, scooping out the licorice and handing it out. But Raph recoiled from his offering, glowering at him with extreme repugnance. "Agh! Seriously? What the hell's it doing in _there_? What, did you learn that from your saloon madame? Now it's got your boob sweat all over it!"

Leo puffed righteously. "Well, then maybe you should've helped me carry all that food, Raph."

"Yeah, and there's worse places he could've carried that," Casey contributed with a sneer. Mikey covered his mouth, stifling a laugh at the delightfully horrible mental images, and joined Casey when he started taking licorice sticks out of Leo's hand.

Raph curled his lips and took a bowl of popcorn from the bed, putting it in his lap and grabbing a generous handful. "Get that stupid movie going already before Leo starts pulling candy out of his armpits."

"Shouldn't we wait a bit more for Karaiwa?" Mikey asked, still hopeful.

"I don't think she's coming, Mikey," April said a little sadly, and everybody else seemed to agree.

They were probably right, but he had to ask, right? He didn't want to linger in that place where his troubled thoughts lay. It was dark and dank down there. Remembering Splinter's words of encouragement, he pulled himself back up, dusted off his shoulders and his butt and smiled, convinced of how much better the next day would be.

"Yeah, okay. Maybe she fell asleep," he said, hitting play and scooching to sit next to Raph. "You guys are gonna love this one. It's pretty much _the_ best ninja movie in the known Universe."

"As long as there's people beating the shit out of each other, I'm sold," Casey said, stretching his legs out on the floor, hands at the back of his head.

The tape ran, and soon they were looking at the title on screen in big bold letters pretending to be Japanese kanji.

"'Purple Ninja: Honor'?" Donnie read aloud. "Ah, well, we're off to a _great_ start!"

"That's right, bro," Mikey said. "Can't you just smell the art?"

"I'm not sure I'm ready for such grandeur," Donnie said levelly, and Mikey twisted around to narrow his eyes at Donnie, because he _knew_ that tone. He got treated to it on a daily basis. Donnie in turn smirked down at him like he knew something he didn't—which, okay, was often true, just not this time. But the ominous music told him the movie was starting for real now.

"Don't worry, Don. If you think a part of it's too complicated we can just rewind and watch it again." He sneered, and Donnie rolled his eyes as sole response.

Mikey was no fool; he knew the movie was "bad". But it was the kind of bad that made it really, _really_ good. This one was a masterpiece of unintentional humor, although not everybody seemed to think so. Ten minutes in, there had already been plenty of groaning and wisecracking and puking sounds. The Purple Ninja was in a heated argument with his archenemy, Khaki Ninja, over the ethics of using the art of ninjutsu for "lucrative purposes". Of course, the heroic Purple Ninja found that highly dishonorable. Khaki Ninja was super offended, apparently, and the music escalated, and the camera zoomed in on Khaki Ninja's frowny face.

"Ooooooh, he mad!" Mikey cried in absolute joy.

Suddenly the two ninjas were engaged in the cheesiest, most embarrassing ninja fight ever put on film. And Mikey _loved_ it. They both fought very enthusiastically and making a lot of intense faces, but Purple Ninja was eventually victorious.

Defeated, the Khaki Ninja did a kind of magical thing with his hands and disappeared in a puff of khaki smoke. At that very moment, the door to Mikey's room opened, letting in some light from outside, and in came Karai. Mikey gasped.

"Hey, I got the text," she said, sounding... sleepy, maybe. She was wearing her sweatpants and sleeping T-shirt, phone in one hand and makeup set in the other.

Mikey paused the movie and reached for the ceiling. "Karaiwa, you came!"

"Yeah!" she said in what seemed like a lazy attempt at mimicking Mikey's cheerfulness. But it was enough for Mikey that she wasn't too angry to see a movie with them. "Did you start watching long ago?"

"Not too long ago," Mikey said, overjoyed that they were all there finally. Donnie, April and Leo happily scooched over on the bed to make room for Karai. "We can rewind a little so you don't miss out on any important plot points."

All the other voices rising in protest didn't give Karai time to reply. She raised a hand and when the noise died down she said, "That's alright, Leo can sum it up for me," and sat on the bed next to the aforementioned brother.

Leo probably thought he was being all stoic and stuff, but Mikey _saw_ the corners of his mouth trembling, trying to hold back the smile.

 _And they call_ me _goofy._

The movie rolled on. Donnie and April started a game of counting errors in continuity, and at one point everybody was commenting and laughing together. The sight of Karaiwa's smile spread a wave of joy through his chest like he'd just drank a glass of warm milk.

"Don't worry, Jimmy," one of the townspeople said to the little boy lying in his lap. Supposedly the kid was dying, but the performance made it more funny than tragic. "The Purple Ninjas will avenge you!"

During the mass battle that followed, the combatants showed off a huge array of very _ninja_ weapons: there were ninja torpedo-launching nunchakus, and ninja flame-thrower sai…

"Damn! I gotta get me some of those!" Raph said just as a Khaki Ninja back-flipped to avoid the fire.

"Yo, Don!" Mikey hollered, craning his head back to look at his brother over the edge of the bed. "You think you can make me one of them torpedo-shooting nunchucks?"

"Sure, I'll put it on the to-do list." Donnie chuckled.

"Get me in on that, please," Raph said, raising his hand.

"And a flame-thrower sai for Raph. For you, April, a thought-controlled tessen."

April sniggered at his nudge. "You read my mind."

"What do I put you down for, Leo?" Donnie asked as though taking orders from a table.

"Hmm," Leo said, pondering for a moment. "Chain-saw katana?"

Mikey guffawed. "Yo, that's no joke! What about you, big sis?"

But Karaiwa seemed distracted, painting her toenails mahogany red, and didn't respond right away.

"Karai?" said Leo, and her head shot up.

"Oh, uh… Yeah, I'll just get whatever Mikey's getting," she said with kind of a hollow smile, pointing the tip of the brush at Mikey before getting back to her toenails. The others exchanged meaningful looks.

"You okay?" Leo asked.

Karai looked up like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes darting from Leo to the TV. Finally she groaned. "This movie _sucks_. It's got as much ninjutsu as the last Karate Kid had karate. I can practically feel my ancestors rolling around in their graves."

"I liked that movie…" Mikey muttered, honestly a little offended. Karaiwa could be really harsh with her opinions sometimes.

"Well, she's right. That movie didn't have _any_ Karate in it, it had Kung Fu," Donnie pointed out. "It should've been called Kung Fu Kid, really, and to be honest I don't know why it wasn't. Probably to cash in on the classic's title."

"I know right? Anyway, I'm done here," Karai said casually, starting to grab all her stuff.

"Where are you going?" Mikey asked quickly in a bit of a panic. _She was leaving already? Wasn't she having fun?_

"I'm gonna call it a night," she replied simply, then waved at the room. "Night!"

"Hey, uh-" Leo stammered, reaching out for Karai—kind of beating Mikey to it—and she looked at him. "Y-you forgot this one," he said, and Mikey saw him hand out the red nail polish she had been using.

"Oh." She reached out to accept the object, but Leo stalled.

"Something wrong?" he asked before letting her have it.

Karai took a glance around. Mikey realized everybody else's eyes were on her, and he tried not to stare. Not too hard at least… And the movie was still going; everybody was missing it. He hit pause, not like anyone cared.

"No, nothing," Karai replied, shrugging.

"You sure?" Leo insisted.

Karai huffed, putting her makeup case under her arm. "Yes, you pest! Look how _okay_ I am!" With one swift flurry of the brush, a long, red blotch appeared on Leo's arm. Mikey hadn't even seen her unscrew the top!

"What the—!" Leo cried out, reeling.

"That color looks good on you." Karai sheathed her mahogany weapon and put it away in her makeup kit to Leo's sounds of aggravation. "Rub it all you want. It's quick-drying and kunoichi proof. Very expensive," she said around an evil smile which looked… pretty authentic. Ah, the memories.

And with that she was out of the room, leaving Mikey a little cold. He wasn't the only one who sighed when the door closed and they all slowly sunk back into their seats. Feeling heavy with defeat, Mikey hit play with a less than enthusiastic finger.

"You'll have to use polish remover," April said helpfully when Leo kept trying to pick the paint off his bicep.

"Fantastic," Leo replied grouchily, and crossed his arms.

Eventually the epic ninja fight scene ended, and after that, the mood pretty much plummeted. It didn't matter how loud a commentary Mikey did, and how excitedly he motioned at the screen. Sooner than later everybody was yawning and looking at their phones, and Mikey gave up. He hadn't really been feeling it anyway.

"Hey, Donnie. I change my mind," Raph said sleepily, chin tucked in against his plastron and eyes half closed. "Scratch the flame-throwing sai. I would like a neuro-flasher thingie to erase this movie from my mind."

"When you grow up," Donnie slurred, fingers drumming impatiently on his leg. Next to him, April desperately checked her phone for the jillionth time.

It didn't take long before Raph's snores started filling the room. By the time the movie ended, Casey had given in too, and the pair were leaning against each other in a way that gave Mikey an idea. A very wicked idea, which should at least cheer them up to compensate for the movie-night fail.

As the credits rolled, Dr. Prankenstein moved in, skirting around all the empty popcorn buckets and candy wrappers and using the background music as cover. They looked adorable as they were —heads leaning against each other, Casey's hand grazing Raph's—but he could make it better. Much better.

"He's gonna kill you," Donnie sang, not so much warningly as matter-of-factly. Dr. Prankenstein knew this, but there are some things in life you just gotta do.

When he was done, he whipped out his T-phone and immortalized his work.

 _Art_.

And when everybody started moving, and the happy couple woke up and looked at each other, they lurched backwards with eyes like beach balls. Mikey spied on them through the corner of his eye while he rewound the VHS tape like he hadn't seen anything. They were totally pretending like their hands hadn't just been over each other's crotches as everybody else started walking out stifling their laughters.

Casey and April left, and everybody was getting ready to call it a night when Mikey decided to take the last step. Maybe he should have thought this through better. At least he could've chosen a safer spot to stand, further from the explosion, more hidden, instead of out in the open like this. But one doesn't make history by thinking things.

Raph was already in his room when the message went through. Mikey heard the exact moment when his own death sentence was sealed — _Mikey, you asshat, you're dead!_ —and knew there would be nowhere to run. It didn't matter that the whole of the Lotus clan was at the other side of the room watching; Raph gave him a noogie _and_ a shell-wedgie, and good thing Leo came to save him—and the Hamato clan's reputation—or Raph would've probably hung him head-down from the spiral staircase like a salami for all to see.

Still worth it. Ten out of ten, would do again. Even with that noogie still hurting, Mikey smiled just thinking of the look of glee on Karai's face when she saw the picture.

And he got an even better idea.

He would have to stay awake for a while longer, but if this didn't get Karai in a good mood then he didn't know what would.

* * *

 **So how did we fare in the Mikey POV? We had a ton of fun, as usual. And Mikey is so precious.**

 **And sometimes a jackass.**

 **But he means well.**

 **Mostly.**

 **Remember, reviews are writer chow! :D**


	18. Chapter 18

**Wow okay we apologize for the long wait guys, we've been very busy these past few months. Hopefully we can make up for it this summer!**

* * *

 **A PRETTY RELEVANT NOTE:** You might want to read or re-read the last part of Chapter 1, if you don't remember, the one concerning the Lotus and Hachisu-no-Hana. It's gonna be important from now on ;)

* * *

It had been super late by the time Dr. Prankenstein was able to call it a mission successful, and even Donnie's lab was dark and quiet. He'd had to wait for Leo to fall asleep to scheme his newest evil plot, and then sneak out to the bathroom to retrieve Karai's other makeup case. But he'd done it…and he couldn't wait to see everybody's faces in the morning. It totally would make up for how much sleep he hadn't gotten tonight, he thought, as he tucked himself and Beatrice into bed at last.

"Nighty-night, Beatrice," he said around a mighty yawn, squeezing the bug plush and patting her white bow. With that, he let himself be carried away into the land of dreams.

He was already at the gates too—it looked like a toy store, only it was casually on fire and Mr. O'Neil was there with him—when he felt something tugging at his mind, bringing him back to the waking world. Maybe it was the aftertaste of Karaiwa's and Master Splinter's argument. In the dead of night, their hurtful words boomed inside his head.

He couldn't stand seeing his family fight like this. There had always been bickering and brawling in the lair, but today had been different. The way she left halfway through the movie had to mean she was still upset, and that worried him.

Cold anguish coiled itself around his heart, and he turned in his bed, grasping for the soft touch of Beatrice's plush carapace. When he found it, he held her tight against him, the pressure against his plastron offering some comfort. But sleep evaded him now, and he opened his eyes with a soft sigh.

That's when he saw it: a figure silhouetted against the translucent glass on his door. For a moment, he wondered if he had actually fallen asleep, because it was too slender to be any of his brothers.

The second thing he thought was that it was possibly his cardboard Chris Bradford. But how did it get all the way over there?

Mikey flicked on the bedside lamp and the sudden light flooded his field of vision. He blinked a couple of times and even in the dim light he quickly realized the figure between him and the door was actually a woman. She was thin and elegant even in those modest jeans and that plain white shirt. He couldn't see her face as she had her back to him, but she had beautiful long black hair. Probably just one of the Lotus girls. Atsuko, right?

Of course, one question still needed answering: what was she doing there, in his room, at that hour, and dressed in street clothes? Maybe she was looking for the bathroom and got lost...

"Lady?" he ventured, and was surprised when she answered with a choked sob. Now that he looked at her, she had a kind of sad aura to her, hunched forward and arms wrapped around herself as if she was cold. His first instinct was to run to her aid, and he would have done it already if this whole thing didn't seem so… off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was getting him all twitchy. "Are-are you alright?"

Whoever she was, Mikey couldn't just stand around while someone was crying. Sad-woman-in-need-of-comfort alert.

Mikey slowly slipped out of bed. If this woman needed his help, then he'd help her. He tried to ignore the fact that the closer he got, the more uneasy he felt. He could hear her quiet sobs as he extended a shaky hand, trying to ignore the nauseating knot in his stomach.

"E-excuse me, lady?" he squeezed out, and in that same moment that his fingertips came in contact with the woman's shoulder, he knew.

This woman wasn't alive.

Mikey gasped and yanked back his hand. The touch had burned him. In his retreat, he bonked his shell against his TV set. Several objects toppled over and hit the floor, but Mikey hardly noticed.

The woman turned, and his blood froze.

Bleeding heavily from three deep gashes on her torso, blazing eyes staring at him through the thick black curtain of her hair, she started shuffling slowly towards him. Mikey tripped on something, couldn't tell what—all his attention was on the horrifying sight creeping nearer. Heart pounding, he clambered on his bed with shaking legs, and pushed back against the wall, whimpering in terror as the woman got closer and closer.

Through the glass of his door he saw a light from Donnie's room, like a beacon of safety calling out to him. He moved against the wall towards the exit, his shell scraping off some of the posters, ninja instincts taking over. Eventually he made it to the edge of the bed, where he jumped over the desk, dodging the dead lady and bolting through the door without looking back.

* * *

Donnie looked at the page and snorted into his hand at one of the mammoths. It was unicycling downhill, completely out of control and about to run over an old lady and her dog, all to demonstrate the principles of precession and inertia.

He sat on his bed with April's gift, his bedside lamp casting an island of warm light in the otherwise pitch-black room. He'd been looking over the heavy book on his lap for half an hour now, and it only got funnier with every illustration.

Suddenly his bedroom door flew open without so much as a warning knock, and Donnie came close to throwing the book in self-defense before he saw Mikey scrambling in.

"For the love of—Mikey!" Donnie gasped, heart in his mouth, and lowered the improvised weapon. He pet the book, murmuring, "Sorry, old boy." But his brother shushed him before turning his shell to him, hunching in front of the door.

"I saw your light on," he squeaked.

Donnie heard the click of the lock being turned and frowned when his brother attempted to look through the translucent glass. "Mikey, what's going on?" he whispered impatiently.

"There's a woman in my room!" Mikey breathed frantically. His face was sweaty, his hands shaky.

"A wom-"

"And she's dead!"

"What?" Donnie set the heavy book aside and kicked off his sheets to get up, but Mikey shoved him back.

"No-no-no dude, don't go!"

"Mikey, is there a dead body in your room or isn't there? It's kind of important!" Donnie insisted.

"No, bro, she's a zombie!"

Donnie gave his brother a long look and then let out an exasperated sigh.

"I told you not to eat that old chili-marshmallow pizza before bed. Indigestion leads to uneasy sleep, and I'm positive that pizza had fermented."

Mikey could be sleepwalking, he thought analytically, watching closely for the symptoms, hoping his brother's somnambulism days wouldn't be back. When they were younger and Mikey got obsessed with that old Wolfenstein game, he'd come in Donnie's room in the middle of the night, crying, saying he couldn't find the stupid key to the next level. Donnie would then have to play along with his imaginary "key-detector" to get him back to bed.

"It wasn't a nightmare, D! I'm telling ya, there's a zombie in my room! And she's all staring and creepy and she has _blood_ and—" Mikey covered his mouth, stifling a gasp.

"Now what?" Donnie asked, unimpressed.

"Beatrice!" Mikey squeaked. "I left Beatrice, we have to go back!" And at once he grabbed Donnie's wrist and yanked him to his feet. Donnie groaned, but followed. There wasn't much of a choice anyway, as Mikey practically dragged him across the hallway to his room. _Zombies_ , Donnie sighed inwardly.

The door stood ajar. Mikey halted at the threshold to slowly peek inside. The room seemed empty, but Mikey lingered at the entrance. Donnie could see him shaking from head to toes and breathing in little gasps, and pity replaced his anger.

"Come on, Mikey," he said gently, leading the way, as Mikey watched him with wide eyes. There was no one in the room, nothing out of the ordinary—unless he counted all the trash from movie night that hadn't been picked up, a couple of fallen posters, and the pink giant isopod with the bow sitting on the bed. "See? No zombies. And Beatrice is fine," he said, motioning towards the bed and hoping to inspire some confidence.

Mikey looked around craning his neck one last time before coming in.

"So it was just a nightmare," Donnie concluded. "Now just get to bed and-"

"It wasn't a dream, Don, I swear!" Mikey complained, Beatrice finally safe in his arms.

"Shh, you'll wake up the Lotus."

But Mikey was still inspecting the room, looking behind the desk and under the bed, as if that zombie was the ball-point pen you can never find when you need to write down a number. "She was right _here_!"

"Mikey, I'm sure it felt very real, but dreams sometimes do that," Donnie insisted, the little patience he'd mustered wearing thin again. "There's no one here; no footprints, no blood. Now will you _please_ just let me—" But as he spoke he felt his confidence slowly draining, dying in his throat to be replaced with a strange chill pooling in his gut. And then he saw Mikey's eyes.

His brother's petrified stare, directed at something moving behind him, sent a shiver up his neck and his shoulders quaked involuntarily. The chill became a bone-biting air that filled his lungs, and he winced.

Somehow he knew turning around would be a mistake, but he risked a quick side glance over his shoulder, and what he saw in his peripheral vision made every hint of a doubt disappear. This was very real.

Donnie moved slowly away from the door, very aware of every movement his own limbs did, eyes trained on his brother. "Mikey," he breathed, and motioned at his own eyes trying to get his attention. "Look at me, don't look at her. Only look at me."

Mikey obeyed at once and fixed his terrified gaze on Donnie. When he'd finally reached him, Donnie embraced him tightly and laid his brother's head on his plastron to keep him from looking beyond. Beatrice lay squished between both armored chests.

Feeling a cold breeze on his shell, Donnie fixed his own gaze on the floor next to the bed, paying close attention to his peripheral vision. If he stayed still, he could see the female shape shifting near the door. For a few seconds, it seemed as though the entity would remain at the threshold forever, trapping them in Mikey's room, but then the shape moved and he couldn't see her anymore.

Eventually the cold subsided, so he could once again breathe normally, and he knew she was gone for certain.

When he finally turned to the door, there was no sign of the strange visitor; not even blood. Donnie let go of Mikey to take a prudent look in the hallway and verify that she had indeed disappeared.

"We have to wake up the others," Mikey whimpered behind him, hugging Beatrice tight.

"No," Donnie said, once he got his voice back, heart still pounding. "It'll take ages to get them to believe us, and we don't have time for explanations. Besides, it might be best if they don't interfere for now," he went on, dreading all the doubts and questions their brothers were bound to waste time with.

His brain sped along at a hundred miles an hour, trying to find some logic in what he'd seen, processing every bit of information he'd gathered: her appearance, the bone-biting cold… that indefinable _feeling_ in his core that he hadn't quite shaken off yet. _This is the real deal_ , he thought, befuddled.

Not that they hadn't come across weirder things... But comparing Ho Chan to this ghost was like trying to measure a shih tzu's sneeze in the Ritcher scale.

He had the worst hunch, one he needed to put to the test. "She wasn't a zombie, Mikey," he said seriously—because _that_ he knew—and his brother looked up at him from behind Beatrice's bow. "By the looks of it, I think she might have been some kind of _onryō_ : a vengeful ghost."

Mikey lowered his voice to a whisper. "Dude, I hope you don't mean one of those Japanese ghosts, like from that movie with the girl that comes out of the well, and she sets her evil cat after you while she goes," and here he emitted a low rattle deep in his throat.

"I think you're mixing up two or more movies, Mikey. But yes, that would be the type."

Mikey made a choking sound as sole reply and gave Beatrice a squeeze.

Donnie continued, hurriedly. "And if I'm right, then waking the guys up for this could actually put them in more danger. According to the lore, you can't acknowledge an _onryō's_ presence, and you certainly don't want to make contact. That's when they get you."

"That's what happened!" Mikey exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger towards the door, and Donnie shushed him.

"Come on, let's go to my lab, I need my instruments," he said, the idea of turning this into another experiment already making him feel much braver.

"Yeah, that's right! Get your proton pack, bro, and teach that ghost a lesson!"

"Um, yeah... I don't have one of those, Mikey," Donnie said as he led the way towards the lab.

"Then why are we going?" Mikey stopped walking and looked at Donnie with skeptical eyes, clearly wishing they would just head back and lock themselves in a room.

Donnie put a forefinger to his lips. "For science, Mikey. Science," he whispered emphatically. He had no real hopes of catching this ghost—and no means of containing it, for that matter. For now, he was okay with simply learning more, before they tried anything else. Once he knew what kind of threat they were facing, he could organize a ghost-hunting party.

So ignoring Mikey's glare, he pulled his hand to get him to keep moving, not wanting to leave his brother alone now with that thing on the loose.

Outside, the Lotus clan was a shapeless mass of sleeping bodies and luggage on the floor at the opposite side of the dark common room. Swallowing his nerves, Donnie straightened up to amble his way to the lab as casually as possible, in case any of the ninjas happened to open an eye. The situation was hazardous enough as it was; he didn't want anyone getting suspicious and following them. At least the loud snores were a good sign—as well as a pretty efficient sound mask.

Once in his lab, Donnie started rummaging about for anything that could be useful.

"Keep an ear out, Mikey. We don't want anyone waking up," he whispered. They'd kept the lab door open since such a heavy metal contraption was too noisy to move.

Donnie had never gone ghost hunting before and lacked the proper equipment—beacuse really, how was he supposed to foresee _this_. The infrared mode on his tracker might work, he thought, holstering it on his belt, next to his flashlight. But if there was a chance that they were going up against an _onryō_ , they needed more than that. He was startled by an idea, and turned around to rummage through some drawers.

"What's that?" Mikey whispered, peering over Donnie's shoulder to see what he was doing.

"It's just your common battery charger." Donnie snapped it open and started tinkering at record speed. "But with a few adjustments, it should work as an EM gun, which will emit a pulse strong enough to disrupt the ghost's electromagnetic field, if we should need to defend ourselves. Hypothetically, at least..." he explained as he worked, assembling the makeshift weapon. After their experience with Ho Chan, he'd done some minor research on the matter, but since then had been a little distracted, what with saving the world from aliens and curing his sister's mutation.

The prototype required a generator, but fortunately Donnie had a few of those lying around, one of them rigged to be pretty silent, running on a biofuel of his own invention.

"At this scale it wouldn't be any use against a physical opponent, such as you or me," he rambled on nervously as he worked, fighting to keep his voice steady, "but against ghosts it should be good. In theory. You know, just to be safe. Here, you'll have to carry this. Leave Beatrice, she can hide out in here." He did his best to sound reassuring as he handed Mikey the small portable generator.

"What—wait, Don," Mikey breathed, juggling both generator and doll in his arms. "Can… can that ghost hurt us?"

Donnie looked at the terrified face of his brother and hesitated. "Um… Unlikely," he lied, knowing damn well what the stories told about _onryō_ , legend or not, and the horrible things they did to their victims. But the last thing he wanted right now was for Mikey to panic. "We don't know that she's an _onryō_. But just in case I need you to put that stealth talent of yours to work now. Like when you covered me in sticky notes while I slept. And Raph and Casey? That was amazing!"

"Yeah, that was good." The flash of a smirk crossed Mikey's face and then it was gone. "But that was different, man! There was no pressure then! And _no ghosts_!"

Donnie sighed. "Well… Will you do it for a Mikey snack?" he joked, at a loss, heading for the exit.

"That's not funny!"

Donnie shushed him again, and motioned for him to tag along. Mikey whimpered, but finally set Beatrice on a desk and followed.

Donnie turned on the tracker at the top of the steps, making sure to set it to mute first. The little screen came alive and started displaying its analysis of their surroundings. The infrared showed the big orange mass where the Lotus were sleeping. There were also a few shapeless blotches of red here and there from the lair's heating system, and a couple of cold leaks from a broken pipe that went to show that a sewer wasn't the most propitious ghost-hunting ground.

He thoroughly scanned the big room a few times before giving the all clear.

"Keep your eyes peeled, Mikey," he whispered to his brother, and headed for the bedrooms. The extra pair of eyes would come in handy if he had to keep a close watch on the tiny screen of his tracker.

They turned the corner into the corridor, and when he pointed the device at the ground, he stopped.

"What? What did you see?" Mikey breathed urgently, grasping the strap across Donnie's shell.

Donnie pointed at the screen, where they could see a series of blue tracks staining the dim green of the floor. They lead to one of the doors.

"It's in Raph's room!" he exclaimed under his breath, stalking down the corridor up to their brother's door with Mikey in his wake. Slowly he reached out and turned the handle.

The door opened to the darkness within, and Raph's light snoring. On the screen, a shapeless black fog stood next to the bright red shape of their brother.

Donnie heard Mikey's breath hitch as they shone the flashlight on the figure.

There she was again, standing by Raph's bed, her back to Donnie and Mikey as if too concentrated on Raph to have noticed them.

That horrible chill was back, soaking through his skin a strange feeling of despair. He could feel Mikey trembling beside him. Wishing he'd had more time to think of a better plan, he racked his brains for a way to proceed. Raph shivered and pulled his covers over his chin, but fortunately kept sleeping.

As Donnie pondered in a panicked daze, he saw the ghost starting to lean forward. It reached out to Raph's sleeping form. Donnie gasped. No time to think!

Moving quickly, he fumbled around for the generator that Mikey was holding and flicked the switch. The machine came on with a dull humming sound. He pointed the EM gun at the ghost in his shaky grasp and fired before the pale fingers could reach Raph.

The electromagnetic pulse hit its target. The ghost swivelled around, and Donnie reeled at the bewildered expression on the woman's cadaveric face before her image rippled. Raph's radio blared on and Donnie choked on a yelp, startled by the sudden sound of static.

And then she was gone, and the room was once again engulfed in silence, only broken by Donnie's and Mikey's agitated panting.

In all the commotion, Donnie hadn't noticed Raph springing to a sitting position. His brother looked around, eyes squinted, until he saw them at his door.

"The hell are you doing?" he yelled. "Go play with your stupid gadgets somewhere else!"

Donnie tried to silence him, frantic. "No, Raph, you don't understand! There's a gh-agh!" He couldn't finish his sentence because Raph's pillow had just slammed into his face with a hard _phlump_.

"Get out!" Raph demanded before furiously shoving his blanket over himself, and Donnie pushed Mikey outwards into the hallway to close the door.

 _Well, nuts to that_. He scoffed, scratching all thought of getting their temperamental brother in on the game.

He checked his tracker again. Good news: the ghost seemed gone from Raph's room, and now he knew the EM gun worked. But it wasn't over yet.

He _had_ to get to the bottom of this.

"Did we get it, Donnie? Is it gone?" Mikey breathed in his ear, head twitching to and fro.

"No, we only scattered it," Donnie said, pointing his tracker around, down the corridor in shadows, looking for movement. "It must have relocated." He searched the floor, but only their own warm, three-toed footprints were visible. Leo's room seemed clear as well. Careful not to wake anybody, he headed back towards the stairs, peeking inside Mikey's room and his own before aiming it towards the entrance.

He saw a shape there, slipping slowly through the turnstiles.

"She's going in the tunnels!" Donnie said, careful not to lose sight of the hazy dark stain moving in the screen.

Mikey groaned pitifully, clearly not thrilled about the prospect of a haunted house ride through the sewers.

"Suit yourself." Donnie shrugged as he pointedly turned his back to him and started walking.

He mentally counted to five, and smiled when he heard the light padding of feet behind him. Mikey was back at his side before he'd passed the turnstiles.

The sewers made ghost hunting even harder. All the cold water and puffs of hot steam interfered with the infrared, and he had difficulty picking an actual signature among all the noise.

He clucked his tongue and stood as still as he could, looking for movement.

"There," he said, gesturing at an exit down the tunnel, where he thought he'd seen the dark-blue shape shift.

They found the rusty metal door to one of the subway station's abandoned maintenance tunnels, still slightly ajar. Donnie pushed the door and it opened with a screech.

They were about to step through the threshold when a gleaming white shape burst before them, hissing fiercely. They screamed, stumbling backwards away from the apparition… before realizing it was only a cloud of vapor from a leaky pipe. The gleam of the flashlight had reflected off the thick steam making it seem solid.

"Those stupid pipes always do that! Every horror game, man!" Mikey yelled angrily, clutching at his plastron. Donnie agreed with a fervent nod, also in the process of catching his breath, pulse thudding in his ears. He _hated_ jumpscares.

Donnie steeled himself, and pushed through. Beyond the door, they found themselves in a long narrow passage, flooded by murky water.

"I think I have a lock on her. Let's go," Donnie sing-songed in feigned merriment, before stepping into the opaque liquid. The bottom felt disgustingly soft on his bare feet.

"Why? _Why_ do we have to go?" Mikey whined, but it was only a rhetorical question, and still kept close.

Their flashlight allowed them to see a only few feet of the mossy brick wall and the brown water in front of them. The rest was an impenetrable darkness that seemed to go on infinitely, broken only by the occasional burst of water vapor.

"Stupid steam!" Mikey grumbled each time.

Donnie had never really explored the whole tunnel since he deemed it unsafe years ago. There was nothing useful in there and it was dangerously decrepit. Curtains of dust fell from the ceiling with every tremor of the nearby subway.

They moved as fast as they could while trying not to make too much noise, which was difficult having in mind they were standing to their calves in filthy water. Donnie couldn't see an end to that endless rabbit hole, or the ghost for that matter. He kept his eyes on the tiny screen, on the faint tar-like shape moving slowly ahead of them, invisible. It was the only indication that there was even something there. He tapped the device, muttering encouraging words to it, pleased that they seemed to be gaining on the entity.

After minutes of walking through that endless passage, he finally thought they were close enough to catch her in the beam of their flashlight. He braced himself, holding his breath, expecting to see her spectral shape and pale bloodied face any moment now.

But then, just like that, the shape disappeared from the screen, evaporating like a wisp of smoke.

Donnie gaped at the device in utter confusion. He realized he had been squishing against Mikey's side, before fear gave way to frustration.

"Oh, no, come on!" Donnie shook the tracker, even though the tracker wasn't the problem. The thing had just disappeared all of a sudden.

"What is it?" Mikey demanded, gripping Donnie's arm.

"We lost it!" Donnie protested, racking his brains. "It's not interference, it's just gone!"

"Wait, bro, you hear that?" Mikey said.

Donnie turned off the tracker, and without its constant whirring the place was suddenly engulfed in eerie silence, but for the drip-drop of a distant leaky pipe.

He strained his ears. This time he heard it: a quiet moan. The echo made it hard to tell whether it was in front of them or behind them.

"I think it's that way," Mikey squeaked, pointing ahead, and got behind Donnie to push him along. Despite their best efforts, their feet splashed noisily in the silty water.

They came to an intersection and Donnie halted, putting a hand in front of Mikey to stop him too, and they waited for the sound of water to fade.

There it was again—a woman's hushed voice, sounding a lot closer. He pointed his flashlight down one of the tunnels and there, standing still in the middle, was a figure.

They'd found her. They'd found her and now Donnie realized he was once again without a plan. Should they try to talk to her or would that just make it worse? Can you even reason with an _onryō_? This was completely new terrain for him, what was he supposed to do? At least they had their EM gun. Maybe if they waited she would keep moving and lead them to some clues. Or maybe they were about to be murdered horribly, and the rest of their family would find their bodies days later, turned inside out or something.

The figure shifted and Donnie started, bumping backwards into Mikey, and at his brother's loud yelp, the shape lifted its head. There was a low, angry grumble and Donnie felt his blood freeze, before he realized where the sound was really coming from: Mikey had turned on the generator.

"Get it, Donnie, get it!" Mikey cried, hugging the machine and nudging the EM gun at Donnie.

"Who's there?" said a voice.

Donnie whipped back at the figure, gun at the ready, and the woman's face gleamed in the flashlight. But it wasn't a ghost at all.

He would never have suspected it... But there was Hachisu-no-Hana, one hand in front of her eyes to shield the beam of light.

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san?" Donnie exclaimed.

Stumbling, the woman moved to lean against the wall, propping herself as if her feet could barely hold her.

Recovered from the shock, they ran to her aid, ready to catch her if she fell.

"What are you doing here?" Donnie asked in bewilderment, and looked around with the flashlight for any sign of a battle. But they were alone, and the tracker confirmed it.

She looked really sick—her face contorted, pale and sweaty like a wax candle—but not wounded. She didn't take his hand when he offered it.

"Hello, I… I was only taking a walk," she said, voice shaky as though nauseous.

"In the sewers? Hachisu-no-Hana-san, not even _we_ go for walks around here," Mikey said while Donnie gauged the woman closely. Looking for more symptoms, he noticed her hand cupping her sash on her right side, as though it hurt, but also like she was... trying to hide something?

So he didn't ask, and instead filed the bit of information in his memory for later.

"I didn't feel well. I think it's… what is the name? Jet-lag," she said.

"Well… Let us help you get back," Donnie insisted, finding her story a little hard to believe.

"That's alright, I can walk. I feel better now," she said, once again rejecting Donnie's hand. What she said seemed true, though, as she was actually starting to look a little better now, her voice steadier. Her hand finally left the brick wall and she stood straight and proud once again.

"You sure?" Mikey asked, looking her up and down with concerned eyes.

"Yes, thank you," she repeated kindly. "But if you have some lemon balm, I will make some tea."

"I'm sure Leo has lemon balm in his arsenal," Donnie said, and offered an obliging smile.

"Thank you very much," Hachisu said, timid eyes apparently grateful. She was still shaken, but the color had returned to her cheeks. Donnie couldn't help but lift an eyebrow at her fast recovery. Her hand left her sash and he risked a quick glance, but noticed nothing unusual. There might have been a slight bulge, but so discreet that it could be anything.

"I am sorry about the trouble. I did not mean to worry you," she said on their way back through the tunnels.

"No biggie, Hachisu-no-Hana-san," Mikey said, back to his usual cheerful self as he gave the Lotus leader his freckled smile, whose warmth could melt an iceberg.

Donnie took one last peek at his tracker, switching it on and pointing it around Hachisu-no-Hana when she wasn't looking, and only found the usual static of a myriad of small interferences. Nothing like the vibrant blue pulse of the ghost. The entity was certainly gone, at least for now. And Mikey was sometimes as good a strange-o-meter as his tracker, he thought with an inward smirk as he watched his brother happily lead Hachisu through the tunnels back to the lair like nothing had happened. He even managed to make Hachisu smile with his silly jokes.

With Hachisu back in her sleeping bag, after many bows and apologies, Mikey then followed Donnie back to bed, bringing Beatrice with him—because no way was he going to sleep alone in his room after that, _no frikkin' way, bro_. And when Mikey was already snoring in Donnie's ear, Donnie was still thinking about what had just happened.

None of them was a stranger to the supernatural—their encounter with Ho Chan one of the most recent proofs for it. Aliens and ghosts and werewolves? Sure, why not. Ironically he'd been more skeptical as a child than he was now. Over the years and with everything that his strange family was subjected to almost on a daily basis, he had inevitably learned not to take anything at face value. He'd come to the conclusion, long ago, that ultimately magic was science unexplained. And he was determined to find and explain the science in any kind of magic that dared present itself as such. This ghost business definitely called for a more thorough investigation.

 _This isn't over,_ he promised himself.

While Mikey mumbled and kicked in his sleep, Donnie thought about the spirit, and how it happened to have lead them straight to Hachisu-no-Hana before vanishing. There was _no way_ the two were not connected.

* * *

 **Weee this was one of our favorite chapters to write, and a turning point in our guys' story. You'll see... *evil giggle* Thoughts?**

 **And of course as always a humongous thank you to our beta readers, Theherocomplex and Queequegg, who are so patient and dedicated. Thank you, gurls!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Dr. Prankenstein has been busy. But even that isn't enough to improve Karai's mood. In fact it's probably made it worse.**

 **So we heard you like drama. Have some build-up! Also featuring brotherly banter!**

 **As always, huge thanks to Queequegg and Theherocomplex for their superb beta jobs!**

* * *

Leo welcomed the new day with a mighty stretch. Getting up in one agile flip, he rolled his futon and neatly put it away behind his bookcase. It was early, just the way he liked it, which gave him about an hour of peace and quiet before any of his brothers got up. And better yet, it meant the bathroom would be all his. He was surprised to find he wasn't the only early bird in the lair: Hachisu-no-Hana was also up, sitting in the bean-bag chair in the living area, meditatively looking at a tablet. He'd almost forgotten about the Lotus clan. Even in black yoga pants and a long-sleeved top, hair drawn back in her usual modest ponytail, she still looked dignified.

Intent on making the best, most cordial impression possible, Leo approached her. She gazed up at him as he entered the pit.

"Ohayō gozaimasu, Hachisu-no-Hana-san!" he said merrily, making a special effort of getting the accent right, and supplemented his words with a wide smile. "Did you sleep well?"

When Hachisu's eyes met his, she paused. There was nothing telling in her expression. She simply… stared, eyes blank. Leo was starting to think he must have pronounced it horribly wrong. Or maybe he should've kept a more stoic demeanor, instead of coming on so openly. He realized he wasn't wearing his mask yet. Could that be it?

Luckily she reacted after a couple of seconds, and finally replied, "Ohayō gozaimasu, Leonardo-san. Yes, thank you, I slept very well." A fleeting, timid smile formed on her lips. "And you?"

"Very well, thank you. Did you have breakfast?" Leo asked, relieved that Hachisu had stopped looking at him like that.

"Yes." Hachisu motioned at an empty plate and a cup sitting to one side. "I hope it's not a problem that I took some of your food. It is much too early to send my team for groceries."

"Please. Make yourselves at home."

She acknowledged with a little nod, and thankfully no signs of lingering weirdness.

"Uh, let me take those from you so they're not in the way," he offered, already going for the pieces of ceramic.

Hachisu reached out, moving her arms to gently stop Leo. "Oh, no, please. That is not necessary…"

"No, I insist," Leo said, puffing out his chest as he stood with the plate and the teacup in hand.

"Very well, thank you again," she agreed.

"Don't mention it." He decided that was enough for the moment—didn't want to seem overzealous—and started towards the kitchen with the utensils. "I'll leave you be."

"Wait," she said, stopping him in his tracks once more. She reached into the backpack at her side and retrieved a small metallic object, offering it to Leo on her palms. It was a shuriken engraved with the emblem of the Hamato clan, clearly the one that Raph had left back at the warehouse where the Lotus first saw them. "I believe this belongs to you," she said with a little bow and a Mona Lisa smile.

Leo nodded, balancing the ceramic in his arms, and took the shuriken from her small but sturdy hands. He put it away in his belt before starting towards the kitchen, slowly but surely so as not to make a mess. Wouldn't want to make a fool of himself in front of the Lotus clan leader.

 _That went great, actually!_ he thought as he put the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, grinning to himself. He couldn't help feeling proud, even after that awkward look Hachisu had given him at first—perhaps he should work on his pronunciation. But everything else he'd handled like a true Japanese gentleman, if he did say so himself, given he didn't often get to practice that role in his crazy life.

After a quick visit to the toilet and a bit of kata practice in the dojo— _wow, it's been an hour already?_ —it was finally time for breakfast.

He found Karai already in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal and looking mildly annoyed. It seemed she was still hung up on her confrontation with Splinter the previous day. He would have to tread lightly.

"Morning, Karai," he said casually, taking a teacup from the cupboard.

"Hey," she said dully without so much as a side glance, and chomped on a big spoonful of cereal.

Leo let the water heat, and got out the shuriken to look at it while he waited, even when it was exactly like all the other shuriken they owned. Still, he would keep this one in his drawer, as a souvenir of their alliance with the Lotus clan. Who knew if they would ever meet again? The thought saddened him, and he quickly tossed it aside.

"Kind of exciting, isn't it?" he said to Karai, unable to keep his inner fanboy contained as he put the shuriken back in his pouch. "We have another ninja clan living in our lair."

Karai made a muffled sound through a mouthful of cereal. Leo took it to mean she agreed.

"And what do you think of Hachisu-no-Hana? I like her style," he commented thoughtfully, more to himself than anything. "She's kind of austere. No makeup or anything, and you can tell. But there's something so natural and carefree about that," Leo said, remembering the clean face, the slightly haggard appearance that somehow worked. "So confident, even though she's so small. She's got this commanding presence, you know?"

Karai made a non-committal sound, before whipping her head around to look at him deadon.

Leo froze at the look of surprise in her wide-shot eyes. "What?" he said suspiciously, as Karai's face slowly stretched into a wolfish sneer.

"Oh, nothing... Little Miss New York Sewers..."

"What- why are you calling me that?"

Karai chuckled through her nose. "I think a mirror is worth a thousand words."

He touched his face, now genuinely worried, but felt nothing. He hurriedly set down his teacup, spilling some of the contents, dashed out of the kitchen and practically kicked open the bathroom door. Donnie was inside brushing his teeth, mask around his neck, and gave a yelp of surprise.

"Leo, what is it with you guys and–!" But as soon as their eyes met he choked on the toothpaste and started coughing into the sink. "Ew, I swallowed some!" he cried, leaning down to rinse his mouth, and Leo took the opportunity to look himself in the mirror over Donnie's hunched shell.

What he saw left him speechless.

There was his face, sporting meticulously drawn black eyeliner that made the blue of his irises practically shine in the muted green of his skin. _How_ did he not notice when he was in here earlier?

"Looks pretty good on you, to be honest," Leo could vaguely hear Donnie's voice say next to him. "You know, for a guy... and… also a turtle. Although in several cultures men often wear black eyeliner to protect their eyes from the sun, so it's really not that uncommon. I'm afraid I can't say the same for turtles."

"Thanks for the fun fact, Donnie," Leo retorted weakly, still unable to take his eyes off of his own reflexion. "I feel better knowing I don't _just_ look like a Jack Sparrow fanboy."

 _Hachisu-no-Hana saw me like this. That's why she seemed so weirded out._

He leaned over the sink and started washing the paint off when Donnie's voice interrupted him again. "I don't think that'll work."

Leo looked up to see his brother watching him critically, toothbrush still in hand.

"Why?" Leo spat.

"I'm guessing that's Karai's eyeliner. If that's the case, it's extraordinarily waterproof."

" _What_?" Leo looked in the mirror again. His face dripped with water and soap, but underneath, the makeup was intact.

"Mm-hm, yeah, I've thought about testing it as a seal for microscopic cracks," Donnie commented like he was shopping for materials.

"Are you kidding me!" Leo grabbed a handful of toilet paper and started rubbing, to no avail. The paper started disintegrating into little white balls that stuck to his face and got in his eyes, and he frustratingly swatted them off.

"Why did you even put eyeliner on in the first place?" Donnie asked with a little chuckle.

Leo glared at him. "I didn't! How do I get this _off_?"

"Actually, Leo, my knowledge on makeup is relatively limited. All I know is that stuff is _durable_."

"Dammit!"

Storming out of the bathroom, Leo hustled to the kitchen, covering his face in case he ran into anyone else on the way.

"Karai!" he growled when he got there and pointed at his face. "How do I get this _off?_ "

"That comes off on its own, Mochi-chan. Just give it, oh, ten to fifteen hours," she replied casually and took another spoonful of cereal.

Leo could feel his blood start to boil.

"I don't see why you'd want it off though, it looks really good on you," Karai added around a new mouthful. "I totally called it."

"Hachisu-no-Hana saw me like this!"

Karai barked a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm sure she likes a man with a sense of fashion."

"Why?" Leo implored, almost digging his nails into the wooden table. "Why did you have to do this _now_ , with the entire Lotus clan living in our common room?"

"Oh, come on, will you stop with the drama?" Karai said with an eye-roll. "Besides, I didn't put that on you."

"I _know_ you, Karai!" Leo said. Karai's eyebrows quirked. "You're the mastermind! You think I forgot the other day in the dojo? 'Oh, Mochi-chan!'" he said in a mock imitation of Karai's smug voice. "'Mochi-chan, you have earned the kunoichi's eyeliner, you totally have the features for it!'"

"It wasn't _me_!" Karai drawled. "It was Mikey. He's the only one who could've done it so cleanly besides me. I taught him the ways. He has a knack for it too," she added thoughtfully before getting back to her breakfast.

Leo groaned and let himself fall down onto a stool, hiding his face in his hands. "This is so _embarrassing_! They will never take me seriously. Hachisu-no-Hana must have thought I was a moron!" He heard Karai scoff, but ignored her. "I've got the chance to associate with this amazing kunoichi leader. I could have learned so much. And now I'm not gonna be able to look her in the eye! All for a stupid prank! I guess it was too much to ask that you guys try to be at least slightly professional."

"Ugh!" Karai slammed the table, standing up abruptly and almost toppling over her stool. Leo straightened up at the sudden thunder as her bowl of cereal whirled precariously, spilling a few wet Cheerios. "Just _stop_!" she yelled. "You and your ridiculous _bushido_! Do you even _hear_ yourself?"

Leo didn't know what to say to that so he just stared in bewilderment.

"You're… _hypnotized_ by that woman!" Karai went on. "You must think she's the best thing in Ninjutsu since Hattori Hanzo!"

"What?" Leo spat, reeling, his cheeks growing hot. He desperately looked towards the exit, terrified to think Hachisu might have heard any of that.

"Don't play dumb now, I've been stepping on your puddles of drool ever since she got here."

Leo could see her body trembling with fury, so he spoke as calmly as possible, doing his best to ignore his own inner rage and red-hot blush.

"Karai, I don't know where you got-"

"Oooooooooh, notice me, Senpai, Hachisu-san!" she mocked in a deep, raspy voice, what she must have thought was an imitation of him. "Please, if you want I'll put on a collar and you can make me your sweet pet turtle!"

"That's _enough_ , Karai!" Leo shouted, furiously aiming a finger at her. He'd failed at keeping his voice low, but he couldn't care less. He was so tired of walking on tiptoes around her. "If you have something to say, just spit it out!" he challenged.

"I already spat it out, you idiot! I got more, though." Karai's face was centimeters from his, in a much different way than on that sparring session two days ago. "You're so much of a weeaboo it's hysterical. You're a samurai wannabe with delusions of greatness, and you should grow. The hell. _Up_."

Leo finally burst. "Look who's talking! At least I don't read shōjo just to pretend I'm normal!"

Karai flipped the bowl of cereal, spilling its contents all over the table. Then she stormed off.

The bowl twirled, but Leo didn't care enough to keep it from falling off the table and shattering on the floor. The screaming must have been heard over in Brooklyn.

* * *

Karai slammed her door. The force she used to run her lock chipped a nail.

With a frustrated huff, she dove into her bed face up. Her ponytail dug into the back of her skull. Clucking her tongue, she undid it and wrung the elastic ruthlessly between her fingers. She pulled so hard that one of the threads came loose. Piece of shit material.

Turning, she spotted her collection of Tsum Tsum dolls on her nightstand. Four turtles, each with their own tiny bandana around their necks—red, purple, orange and blue—making a column on top of a bigger rat, like a miniature plush totem. She stared at the pile, bright colors popping against the dark tones of the rest of her room, and felt a pang in her chest. The little turtle with the blue bandana sat at the top. It looked at her, and she glared back. _Moron_ , she thought, aiming the elastic band like a miniature slingshot. She pulled hard, and then released. The elastic flew, knocking the little turtle with the blue bandana off its perch. It bounced soundlessly off the nightstand and out of sight.

 _You asked for it, you big weeaboo._

The impact had left the turtle below lopsided, and she stretched out her hand to straighten it, tussling the little orange bandana.

Her T-Phone blinked, telling her she had an unread message, and she ignored it for about twenty seconds as she lay staring at the ceiling. In the end, curiosity got the best of her.

It was the Hamato group: Mikey had sent a picture of Leo in bed, mouth slightly agape and eyes closed in deep slumber, the neat kunoichi eyeliner adorning his features. Someone had repositioned him into a sexy French girl pose. She couldn't hold back a smile, and hated herself for it.

* * *

Donnie stared at the kitchen entrance, trying to make up his mind to go in.

He'd been waiting to tell Leo and the others about last night's encounter with that ghost. But after Karai had stormed out of the kitchen like that—fuming like a steam locomotive before the concerned eyes of a few Lotus members—Donnie wasn't sure his brother would be in a very receptive mood.

Not to mention the other cause for concern: Karai. Perhaps he could save the ghost stories for later... After all, it had been pretty quiet and ghost-less that morning—in fact he'd been lying awake all night expecting to hear horrible screaming from somewhere in the lair. But all he heard was Mikey's snores in his ear.

There was a dull chirp from inside his belt pocket. He fished out his T-Phone, clicked it open to look at the new picture, and cringed.

 _Oh, man. Terrible timing, Mikey,_ he thought as he put the phone away in his belt. He took a deep breath and tied on his mask before entering the kitchen.

Inside, he spotted Leo also looking at his phone. They locked eyes for a moment and Leo put the device away looking disgruntled, before getting busy picking up the pieces of the broken bowl off the floor. Yep, ghost could definitely wait.

Donnie also decided to spare his brother any other comments about a certain photo and approached him cautiously, taking a cloth from a drawer. "Need help with that?"

Leo shrugged, but stood aside, and Donnie grabbed the bin to throw in the soggy cereal. Together they cleaned up the milk and Cheerios spilled all over the table and the floor.

"You're up early," Leo said bluntly after a bit. He sounded pissed.

On a normal day, Donnie would've been the last up, just in time for morning training. Not this morning though, but will power had nothing to do with it.

"Mikey spent the night in my bed. I gave up trying to sleep," he explained briefly and Leo made a non-committing sound of acknowledgement. "What happened?" Donnie then asked carefully.

Leo groaned through a grimace. "Ugh. If only my swords were as sharp as her words, they could cut light." He dejectedly threw a piece of ceramic at the bin. At least he was talking.

"You know we should be careful," Donnie said, concerned. "The future turtles–"

"I didn't do anything! _She's_ the one who got all…" Leo gestured wildly, visibly and audibly frustrated. Donnie could understand—heaven knew he wasn't the poster boy for patience himself—but this situation called for extreme caution. And it wasn't as if Leo's words hadn't been just as hurtful. Donnie shot him a worried frown, and waited for him to calm down.

His irate brother finally glanced past the kitchen curtains and sighed. He let his arms fall and shook his head. "Yeah, I should talk to her," he said softly.

"Maybe wait a little…" Donnie suggested. Karai had probably locked herself in her room, to mull things over, or punch a couple of walls. There was a good amount of evidence suggesting she dealt with anger a lot like Raph—it was best to let her cool off before attempting to engage.

Speaking of hot-heads.

Raph slapped the curtains to the side, wearing his usual morning face under his red mask. But then he froze, catching sight of Leo, and his lips started curling into a shit-stirring grin.

"Well! What's different here?" he asked, an overacted nonchalance in his tone of voice.

"Shut up." Leo dropped the milk-drenched cloth into the sink before sitting down.

"No, wait, let me guess. You did something with your hair." Raph laughed uproariously. When neither Leo nor Donnie reacted, the laughter faded to a deflated chuckle as he stared curiously at both. "Okay, seriously, why are you wearing goth makeup, bro?" he asked at last. Donnie gave him a _not now_ look, but was interrupted by a new arrival.

"It's _kunoichi_ makeup, Raph." Mikey came in the kitchen displaying a knowing smirk. He had his mask on as well, and Donnie couldn't help but notice how he looked well rested. He obviously slept like a baby—a baby warthog with a stuffy nose. "And I think he looks fabulous," Mikey cooed, and clapped his hands together, batting his eyelids.

Raph was the only one who laughed, while Donnie could swear he saw some smoke come out of Leo's ears.

"Where's Karaiwa?" Mikey asked, looking very satisfied, as he took out a pan and a dozen eggs.

"She's busy," Leo responded tartly. Donnie knew his brother, and his silences often bore more meaning than any kind of angry shouting.

"What did she think of your new look?" Mikey asked in a silky voice, relentless and oblivious, and leaned towards Leo with a suggestive brow waggle.

Leo pressed his lips. "Oh, she thought it was a real hoot. She complimented the artist," he grumbled.

"Aw yeah," Mikey hollered, cracking a few eggs on the rim of the pan. The eggs sizzled as Mikey wielded the spatula in a flourish. "And what do _you_ have to say, Captain? Was that some quality ninja-ing or what?"

But Leo didn't even lift his black-lined eyes off his tea. "Yeah, and I wish you'd take real stealth missions as seriously as these stupid pranks, Michelangelo."

Donnie saw it hit Mikey at last; the moment his cocky smile drooped into a frown at the sound of his full name—about time, too. Spatula halting mid stir, Mikey turned around to look questioningly at Leo.

Raph seemed to have noticed something was pissing Leo off more than usual as well because he was giving him one of those looks of concentration that made him look angrier, even when he wasn't. Donnie used that silence to give them both a warning glare, and Mikey's big round eyes and slumped shoulders said, " _Oh okay, not a good time."_

The eggs had started to burn and Mikey finally reacted, turning back to the stove to stir them. He finished cooking and serving, quietly, head slightly tucked into his shell and casting the occasional glance at Leo. Donnie took the chance to pour himself some well-needed coffee before sitting down in front of his plate. Even in current circumstances, his stomach grumbled in a Pavlovian response to the familiar combination of smells.

"We should go out tonight, keep looking for that missing mutagen," Leo said monotonously, ending the silence. "We could try the Purple Dragon hideouts again, see if there's any leads on where they could've gone."

"We already looked there!" Raph protested, dropping the forkful heading for his mouth. "Even the Lotus didn't see anything. I thought we agreed the Purple Dragons were gone!"

"They won't be gone forever," Leo replied. He hadn't even tried his eggs, and his teacup was no longer steaming. But at least neither was he. "Besides, there might be some clue as to where they are, or what they might be up to. Maybe in their computers."

Donnie swallowed quickly to reply, almost choking on his eggs. "I really gotta work on the portal," he warned, knowing Leo was already counting on him to hack the bad guys' databases. It was hard to say which was more important, but easy to say which one he was looking forward to the least. "Future Donatello said to have it finished by tomorrow. Maybe the Lotus can help with finding the mutagen," he suggested hopefully.

Leo let out a little sigh through his nose, but nodded. "Alright, finish the portal. But you should get some sleep first, Donnie," he told him, and Donnie rolled his eyes out of habit at the same old phrase.

"Didn't sleep well, D? Nightmares?" Mikey asked.

"Your sinusitis was my nightmare, Mikey. And you kept moving and talking in your sleep. And _kicking me_. It'd be nice if you trimmed your toenails once in awhile," Donnie said.

Mikey pouted petulantly. "Yeah, well, you whistle."

"You slept in Donnie's bed?" Raph cut in with a scoff. "When are you gonna grow up, Mikey? You're _seventeen_ , man."

"I'm not gonna have this conversation again." Mikey crossed his arms defensively, and glared at both Raph and Donnie in what seemed like an attempt at appearing stern, which was something Mikey's face couldn't do from birth.

"I didn't think that ninja movie was that bad," Leo said, and Donnie was relieved to see his brother slowly recovering from his sulk. "I mean, it was bad, but it was more _ha-ha_ bad, not _scary_ bad."

"It wasn't a nightmare," Mikey said with a tired groan, giving Donnie flashbacks of the previous night. "It was a ghost!"

Raph made a noise halfway between a laugh and a sneeze, and got back to ravaging his breakfast. "Get outta here, Mikey."

"I'm serious!"

"Actually, he _is_ serious," Donne chimed in matter-of-factly, earning a surprised look from his other two brothers. Finally, it seemed like a good time now that Leo appeared clear-headed enough to talk. "We followed it all around the lair, all the way to the tunnels; it was an actual ghost. And an angry one too," Donnie added with a shiver.

"Are you sure it wasn't Ghoul'onardo here?" Raph jested, pointing his spoon at Leo. Leo narrowed his eyes, which only enhanced the effect.

Mikey guffawed. "Ghoul'onardo!" he exclaimed, spewing a few bread crumbs from his toast. "Good one."

"Didn't _you_ see it, Raph?" Donnie asked, swatting some crumbs off his arm. He hoped the additional testimonial would aid his case, but Raph only stared at him as he chewed with his trademark uninterested look. "It went in your room. You woke up. You yelled at us?"

"Yeah, and you threw your pillow at us," Mikey contributed.

"Sounds like me," Raph said, shrugging. "And it does explain why my pillow was by the door this morning."

"So this ghost…" Leo interjected, impatiently signalling them to go on with their story. It was a good sign, at least, that Leo was willing to listen. "What did it do? Did you talk to it?"

"It didn't seem like the talkative type of ghost," Donnie said.

"More like the creepy, moaning type," Mikey interrupted. "Bros, she was all gross and covered in blood, and burns, and she walked all weird, like–" he got up to reenact the scene, pupils pulled back into his skull and shuffling like a zombie.

Donnie went on while Mikey did his thing like some kind of powerpoint presentation to his discourse. "We followed her to the tunnels, and here's the weirdest thing: you won't guess who we found there."

"Was it Zuul?" Raph said, in his infinite resolve to not take anything Donnie said seriously, ever.

"It was Hachisu-no-Hana," Donnie retorted, annoyed, but low enough that it stayed inside the kitchen.

Leo's face scrunched in bewilderment. "What?–Mikey, stop that!" Leo exclaimed, and Mikey sheepishly plopped down on a stool, putting an end to his zombie routine. Leo kept going, "You trying to say Hachisu's a ghost? What's in that mug, Donnie?"

"No! The ghost _lead_ us to Hachisu!" Donnie spat impatiently, fearing he was already losing his audience. He mimed holding a tracker. "That's when I lost the trace, when we found her. She was just standing there in the grime, stumbling, and she only looked half there too."

"She looked just fine when I talked to her earlier," Leo said, pointing a thumb back at the common room and sounding skeptical. "What did she say?"

"Just that she didn't feel well and was out for a walk," Donnie replied, and made quotation marks with his fingers. "'Jet lag'."

"Yeah, I don't think it was jet lag, bros," Mikey said very seriously, and Donnie blew a sarcastic laugh.

"No kidding. We walked her back to the lair and then she said she felt a lot better, and we all just went to bed after that."

Leo looked at the table, scratching his chin with his thumb. Donnie could see doubt in the creases between his eyes, and the condescending look on Raph's face. It all just confirmed his hypothesis that waking them up last night would've been a waste of precious time, and was glad he had opted not to.

"Well... it doesn't prove it had anything to do with Hachisu," Leo said finally. "It could be someone who died in the subway or something."

"Hachisu had to have something to do with it. It's too much of a coincidence," Donnie insisted.

"So she's possessed then," Raph said with a smug lift of his brow.

"What? No!" Donnie retorted. "At least I don't think so… but she definitely had something to do with it."

"Maybe Hachisu was telling the truth. Or maybe she's a sleepwalker and just happened to be there at the same time," Leo said.

Donnie's scientific mind was not convinced; it fidgeted in frustration at Leo's feeble counter-arguments. He pulled up his shoulders, then looked at his brother. "Talk to her?"

Immediately Leo reeled, shaking his hands. "No way. I'm not gonna bother Hachisu with this! What am I supposed to say? 'Pardon me, Hachisu-no-Hana-san, but you wouldn't happen to be carrying a ghost in your backpack?'" He huffed. "I've had enough humiliation for one day, thank you."

"So we're just gonna let this go?" Donnie cried in disbelief. He wasn't too thrilled about the sarcasm either. "Shouldn't we at least ask her-"

"Forget it, Donnie, she's our guest of honor. Did that ghost hurt either of you?"

"Well, no… Not exactly… Not _yet_..."

"But I _touched_ it," Mikey interjected, and his face contorted into a horrified grimace.

Meanwhile Raph just kept eating, laid back and glancing between them as if he were watching a mindless wrestlemania match.

"The future turtles didn't say anything about a ghost, right?" Leo said. "You'd think they would've mentioned it if it was something serious."

Donnie winced, unconvinced. "Maybe… I guess, but-"

"Then unless it turns out to be actually dangerous, we shouldn't meddle." Leo said in his leader voice, which unfortunately meant he had made a decision. "For all we know it's the spirit of her dead sister, or something. You know what the Japanese are like when it comes to privacy."

Staring off to the side in thought, Donnie considered the possibilities. He couldn't really prove that this ghost was an actual threat, or that it would even be a problem again. He hadn't seen or heard any signs of it since their encounter in the tunnels. Leo could be right, it could be just Hachisu's dead family member. She did seem very private about it. It was true that Future Donatello hadn't mentioned a ghost, so in that timeline it must have been something anecdotal, if it even happened at all. All this didn't mean he wouldn't be itching all day about the whole ordeal and being unable to investigate.

He must have had quite a look on his face, because a moment later Leo sighed again. "Alright, look, we'll keep an eye out. If something else goes on, then... I'll think about it."

 _Fat chance_ , Donnie grumbled inwardly, pressing his lips.

"I mean it, guys." Leo pointed a warning finger at Mikey and Donnie. "Don't bother any of the Lotus members, much less Hachisu-no-Hana."

"Fine," Donnie agreed begrudgingly, sharing a look with Mikey, who seemed at a loss. Given Leo's current mood, it was probably best not to push it. Maybe he'd be more open to suggestions in a few hours...

"Now," Leo said seriously, before pointing at Mikey, then at his own beautifully-lined eyes. "You did this. You bring me my mask."

* * *

At training hour, and after having left Karai some time to cool off as suggested, Leo made up his mind to be the better man and go apologize—even when he doubted she'd be as graceful. Karai was not known for her modesty.

With the excuse of calling her to training, he told his brothers to wait for them both in the dojo.

They wished him luck…

He walked towards the last room at the bottom of the hall, took a deep breath and knocked.

No response. In fact, when he put his ear to the door, he heard nothing inside. He knocked again.

"Karai? You there? Uh, we have training," he called, cautiously.

Nothing. She could have her headphones on. Wouldn't be the first time…

He stood looking at the door, hands on his hips, not knowing whether to be angry or worried. When he went to knock once more, ready to apologize through the door if he had to, he was interrupted by Karai's voice.

"Hey, Leo! We're waiting on you!"

Confused, Leo turned his head, because her voice wasn't coming from inside the door, but from all the way across the lair.

There she stood on top of the dojo steps, hip cocked and wearing her new battle outfit. Even her face had her usual arrogant expression on it. He could see his brothers behind her, shrugging.

"Oh–okay," he stammered, and this time his inner conflict was whether he should be relieved or even angrier.

So he went with confused, especially because she never even mentioned their earlier fight. Instead, she was strangely casual during training, seeming pretty determined to act like nothing had happened. Something which, Leo was sure, was far from the truth.

Funny how Splinter had pretty much given his blessing last night—in his very Splinter-ish way—which had been a source of relief only a few hours ago. But now he realized everything was still just as uncertain. If only Leo could figure out what Karai actually wanted, that would be great.

* * *

 **Something's brewing. What's it smell like to you guys?**

 **Remember, reviews are writer chow!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Ahhhh finally, after a busy hiatus, we're back!**

 **As always, huge thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex. You do such an amazing job, love you!**

 **This chapter is more the first part of a very long chapter. There will be drama... Oh yes. And Apritello. Oh yes yes. And some Mikey shenanigans to top it all off.**

* * *

Knowing there was a whole other ninja clan living in the lair, April had expected a full house. What she hadn't expected was a ninja pajama party. She could hear all the signs of a video game tournament all the way from the tunnel as she arrived from school that afternoon.

When she made it around the corner, she stopped in her tracks at the sight of the pit, which was boiling with boisterous teenagers, human and otherwise, sitting around the TV set and excitedly cheering their champions on. There was an uproar of clamours and guffaws, fists shooting upwards at the ceiling, and she saw a couple of controllers being passed over to the next couple of players. Two bowls of assorted snacks went around as the teenagers stuffed themselves with doritos, popcorn and chocolate bars. The lair had never been so lively. In contrast, most of the older ninjas sat at the far corner of the common room in almost monastic silence. April saw a couple of them throw a glare of disapproval at the pit.

Stepping through the turnstiles with a backpack full of homework and a plastic bag with a little treat for her turtle brothers, she almost tripped on the small garden of boots at the entrance. Fifteen pairs, to be exact.

Donnie was the first to notice her. "Oh, April, hi!" he said as she approached the group, practically jumping off the backrest where he had been sitting, like he'd been waiting for her.

So, pretty much like always, she thought warmly.

"Hi, D! Hi, guys!"

"Hi, April!" the others hollered back, Leo looking away from the TV briefly, as it was currently his turn against one of the Lotus kids. April didn't need to look at the screen to know from the sounds that they were playing Mario Kart—the old, _old_ version, the one with the cartridge.

Mikey sat on the floor next to Leo, and he beckoned her closer.

"Yo, April! This is Takeshi, and Atsuko," he said, motioning at the two Lotus ninjas sitting to their left. The kids smiled and waved cheerfully. Mikey then jabbed his thumbs backwards at the bench. "And these are Mieko, and Hayao, and Wakai."

The boy named Wakai was too busy smashing buttons on one of Donnie's custom-made, universal controllers to acknowledge her, but the rest waved as well. She returned the gesture with a timid smile, feeling like the new kid at a foreign school.

"I will never remember any of their names," she whispered at Donnie a little worriedly once they'd all turned back to the game. Donnie chuckled through his nose before waving a dismissive hand.

The ages of the ninjas in the pit ranged from around fourteen to late-twenties. There were a couple of middle aged ninjas sitting a bit to the side, watching from a cautious distance, as if they didn't want to seem too interested.

There was a very obvious age gap among the members of the Lotus, April noticed. There were a lot of very young ninjas, and there were a lot of old ninjas, but the people in between were suspiciously absent, when ideally it should be the other way around. Then she had a grim realization: going by Hachisu's story, they were probably dead, killed in combat.

Inadvertently, a strange sense of loss and hatred seeped its way into her mind, and she knew it had to come from a Lotus, though she couldn't tell who. She tried to block it. It wasn't her business.

"And you've met Beatrice," Mikey said, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked down to see him pat the bug-shaped plushie sitting beside him, and the mere sight of the adorably hideous thing thankfully brought her back to their more cheerful present.

"I sure have," she said, now biting back laughter.

Mikey had officially 'introduced' Beatrice to April the other day, after which she'd broken into a fit of giggles. Everybody seemed very confused that she would find it _that_ funny. Of course, off the record, April already knew Beatrice, since she had actually been the one to win her as a prize during her date with Casey. She should've known the plush would end up under Mikey's care. And for some reason the name Beatrice made it so much funnier.

A new wave of screams and laughter exploded when Leo's kart bumped Wakai's off the road.

"Wooo! Go, Leo!" Mikey cheered, and went to give his brother's shoulders an encouraging squeeze.

"Shh, don't distract me!" Leo squeaked urgently, eyes trained on the screen. Mikey retrieved his hands in a jolt.

The ninjas yelled at their champion in Japanese, one of them smacking the back of his head. Wakai gave a brief complaint, but a stern voice as though right out of a classical samurai movie bellowed above them, making them all start.

"Be more quiet, kids!"

The screen froze, displaying the word "PAUSE". Everybody twisted their necks to look at the owner of the voice, and they too froze. April recognized the old man that had accompanied Hachisu-no-Hana on her first trip to the lair. Jiro was his name, if she remembered correctly.

His imposing glare loomed above the heads of those sitting on the benches.

"Video games, and shouting, and junkfood! It is a shameful display!" Jiro scolded angrily, and April cringed thinking that if the Lotus elders were anything like Splinter, then these kids would have a bump on the top of their heads by the end of this.

But the old man took a finger to his lips, and gestured at the bowl of candy. April looked on in confusion as two young lotuses offered it with a tiny sideways smirk. Jiro grabbed a handful of chocolates, quickly stuffing them in his sash, all without losing his authoritative expression. April exchanged an amused look with the turtles.

"Don't make so much noise! We are guests here, remember that!" the old man yelled into the pit, Lotus teenagers putting on expressions of repentance. Then he exclaimed at the ceiling as he turned around to go back to the adult side of the camp, "What happened to the old ninja values?"

April liked him already. Hachisu, who was peacefully sitting on her sleeping bag, reading a book, shook her head with a tiny smile. Obviously Jiro wasn't fooling his kashira.

"The elders don't seem very happy about this," she sniggered, as the game was resumed and the volume lowered a measly two notches.

"Don't mind them," Mikey said. "They don't get that ninjas have always been at the vanguard of technology." He elbowed Raph in the ribs, before stuffing another handful of popcorn in his mouth. Raph sneered.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Mario Kart doesn't count," Leo stated, which still didn't stop him from keeping his eyes glued to the screen, upper body tilting left and right.

April paused, as she noticed for the first time Leo's eyeliner still slightly visible beneath blue fabric.

That morning, she had woken up to a couple of hilarious pictures, one of which showed Raph and Casey sleeping with their hands on each other's groins. The other one showed Leo wearing black eyeliner and laying in a less than honorable position, looking more or less like the bass player of a Goth band posing for a pin-up. April couldn't decide which picture was best. But she knew better than to comment on it, and it would've been funny if not for Donnie's text at lunch time. He told her about Leo's fight with Karai, and warned her not to bring it up in front of either of them. April realized, with some concern, that Karai wasn't in the pit with them, which made her think things were still a little tense.

Through the corner of her eye, she saw Donnie fidgeting, the tiny flicker of his hand, mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something. But Mikey leaned in at that moment, eyes locked on to the bag hanging from April's hand.

"Say, whatcha got there? Ice cream? Is that an ice cream bucket?" Mikey asked with a greedy smile, eyes threatening to pop out of their sockets.

She smirked. "Yep!"

"Oh, man, April, I'm so glad we rescued you from the Kraang!" He got up to throw himself at April like a spring, squeezing the air out of her with a hug, before taking a peek inside the bag. "TRIPLE FLAVOR FUDGE!"

A few of the kids jumped at the sudden scream.

April wheezed a laugh and rolled her shoulders to put all her bones back into place. "Yeah, but it's a little melted," she said once she'd regained sensitivity on her arms, and squished the soft sides of the bucket as demonstration. It was a warm day outside. If only she could take the guys to the park to share the ice cream with them, sitting on the grass and celebrating the good weather. "We should put it in the freezer for a while before eating it."

"Right! We could have it for dinner!" Mikey said.

Not dessert; dinner. April feared there would be some experimental cuisine that night at Chez Hamato, and she exchanged a look of dread with Donnie and Raph. Even Leo took his eyes off the game for a second to issue an anxious glance at the ice cream, consequently causing his little kart to go careening out of control. He reacted too late, and cried out in frustration as it flew off the edge and into an endless void. Three seconds later, the japanese kid holding the rival controller celebrated with his teammates that his own kart had just gone past the finish line first.

Leo handed Raph the controller, with a low growl at his brother's derisive "Ha!"

Remembering Donnie was standing behind her, obviously waiting, April turned and asked knowingly, "So any news on the future turtles?"

Donnie seemed relieved as his mouth spread into a big earnest grin, eyes sparkling.

"Not yet, but I made good progress on the portal today. Wanna see?" he said, his voice tittering. April just knew he must have been waiting to show her all day.

"Duh!" she said just as eagerly. She'd barely been able to get her mind off the matter all day herself, and got a wiggly feeling in her stomach every time she thought about what was coming, which had made it difficult to focus in class. She was hard put to care much about any of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives when she knew just a few days from now they'd be visited by their future selves. At the end of class she'd come back to reality to realize she'd hardly taken anything in, her notebook alarmingly blank.

But the idea of a multiverse was as terrifying as it was fascinating, and April had hurried straight to the lair after class, anxious for any new information. Maybe she'd be lucky enough to be present for the next contact.

"You sure you don't wanna play?" Raph asked her, mercilessly squeezing the buttons on his controller. Donnie paused beside her at the offer, and she could feel his expectancy as he waited for her answer with a badly concealed glare towards his brother.

"Maybe later," she replied, and turned to the aforementioned turtle, who was now failing to contain his ever-growing smile. She held up the bag. "Lemme just put this away and we can grab a couple of those honey plum pop-tarts."

"Good idea, my trusty lackey."

Raph retched, and April feigned a glare in his direction before taking off towards the kitchen with Donnie. Mikey hopped along, gaze locked on her bag, like a donkey chasing a carrot on a stick.

"Here," he said, taking the bag from her hand without waiting for confirmation. He ran ahead, peering greedily at the contents. "Did ya see the pics I sent?" he called over his shoulder.

April smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. Sometimes she missed the old days when they all lived together and she was a direct witness to all their crazy brotherly shenanigans. It had been tough at times. And crowded. And loud. And oftentimes smelly. But she realized she hated missing out on that stuff as well. It had been forever since she slept over; probably not since they took back the city from the Kraang.

"You're on a roll, Mikey." She laughed, and then started slightly when she noticed someone behind her wanting to get in. She stepped aside and a lanky, twenty-something ninja, with a bag of chips dangling from his lips, came in the kitchen, barefoot, and went straight for the fridge. He almost acted like he hadn't seen them but for the muffled " _Ohayō_ ," which he sang casually before taking a drink from the fridge and walking out. They almost didn't have time to say _ohayō_ back.

Man, it was weird in the lair today. And that was saying something.

"I'm thinking about starting an album, make this a series," Mikey said then, as if there hadn't been an interruption, before opening the freezer. Ice Cream Kitty greeted them with a happy mew. "Don't worry, Kitty. You're still my favorite flavor," he promised.

While he was distracted, April leaned in and asked Donnie covertly, "So... counting the sticky notes, that makes four of you. When is Mikey's prank-karma due?"

Donnie looked thoughtful for a moment, before a mischievous grin spread his features. "I think it's about time." He gave her ribs a gentle elbow nudge before crying out at his brother. "Mikey, what are you doing?"

Mikey jumped, ice cream bucket already half inside the freezer. "What?" he replied, eyes wide.

"You can't just put _male_ ice cream in the same shelf as Ice Cream Kitty!" Donnie said urgently, and April had to summon all her willpower not to burst into cackles as Mikey stared in deep confusion.

" _What_? _Male_ ice cream? W-why not?"

It amused her that Mikey didn't even question the concept of ice cream with a gender.

"Ice Cream Kitty's a female, Mikey! This bucket's male!" Donnie replied matter-of-factly, like it should be common knowledge. "You don't want _this_ ice cream to get Kitty pregnant, do you?"

Mikey ogled at his brother for a few seconds, face stuck in a contorted grimace of disbelief, and April could tell he was trying to figure out how that would work. But obviously Donnie was the scientist...

" _Don't I_?" he squeaked.

" _No_! Mutant ice cream kittens could be incredibly unstable!" Donnie insisted with growing haste. "Who knows what the result could be! I can't say for sure, but by my calculations, with the molecular synthesis of amino acids, hydrocarbons and the hipovitaminosis of molecular emulsifiers, there's a big chance they could turn out evil! Like _Gremlins_!" he stressed. April bit the inside of her cheeks at the fake science babble, eyes watery from contained laughter.

"Gahh! Okay, okay!" Mikey exclaimed. He still eyed the bucket questioningly, but Donnie's straight face was totally selling it.

April tensed her face muscles into the most troubled expression she could muster and took a deep soothing breath before clicking her tongue. "Aw, I'm so sorry, guys. I didn't realize this ice cream was male."

With one last confused glance at Ice Cream Kitty, who emitted an interrogative meow, Mikey started making room in the shelf below for the "male" ice cream. Kitty tilted her head, watching curiously. April saw Donnie wink an eye and Kitty seemed to catch on as she steepled her little ice cream paws.

"There. And Kitty's going to behave too, right?" Mikey said, to which Kitty confidently nodded. Then he stepped aside waiting for Donnie's confirmation that it was safe before closing the freezer door.

"Good. We should probably keep an eye out just in case, though," Donnie said finally. April had to admire the control he had over his face. Ironic that he was so good at this, but had been so prone to break into a blabbering mess around her before. It hadn't happened in a while, actually...

He must have learned over time, she thought, and for some reason that caused a bout of nostalgia, unearthing confused feelings of yearning and regret.

A year or two ago, she often wished Donnie wouldn't stammer around her so much, that he wouldn't hesitate to touch her in a casual way, because she actually enjoyed his company. A lot! That is, when he wasn't trying too hard to impress her or, alternatively, being extremely cautious. The way he purposefully did not look at her, did not touch her, like he feared she would snap, or run away… It was unnerving. She found herself wishing he could be a bit more like Casey, more confident, more forward. Even Casey's often pushy advances were slightly better than watching Donnie struggle to talk normally.

That was before, though. Donnie seemed to have finally learned to be himself, and man did that change things. She liked him like this. She _really_ liked him, she realized, not without a pinch of panic. The tables had turned. Now she was the one being an idiot around him. Now she _understood_. And she couldn't help worrying that he might have noticed something different.

Especially because there was nothing she could do.

"I got you those flux pens you wanted," she said, eager to move things along and back into easy territory.

She took out the package from her duffel bag, and Donnie emitted a little gasp of joy. "Ah! Just in time! Thank you!" he said to her, and the warmth in his eyes made her feel the need to look away and appear busy, fast, before he saw anything telling in her expression.

She quickly went for the cabinet and picked up a couple of pop-tarts, then followed Donnie towards the lab, leaving Mikey to go back to the pit and rejoin the party, still looking deeply troubled.

* * *

Bunkered away in the peace and quiet of Donnie's lab, they texted everyone to put them up to speed on their little evil scheme while munching on their "thinking" pop-tarts.

Leo, Raph and Casey all seemed pretty enthusiastic about their plans for retaliation and offered a couple of pretty good ideas that had them both tittering in anticipation.

Once the plan was set, Donnie showed her to his work bench, tossing the empty wrapper at the bin and scoring three points. The portal device lay surrounded by a garden of tiny, oddly shaped pieces and wires. On the outside, it looked pretty much like any other portable portal they had encountered, but its insides were a mismatched combination of Kraang and repurposed human technology, all plastered together like a little Frankenstein monster.

"Actually, it really doesn't seem like much now, since it's powered by the wormhole's energy," Donnie said a little apologetically, turning the device in his hands, as though looking for something more interesting to show her. Like a time portal wasn't interesting enough, she thought with an inner smirk. "But I predict it's gonna be a light show when the time comes," he added.

"So how exactly does it work with the wormhole?" she asked, and relished in the glimmer that formed in Donnie's eyes at her question.

"Well, see, the wormhole through which Future Donatello contacted me is actually tiny. Minuscule," he said, pinching the air. "It's virtually undetectable with the naked eye, except for the effects it might have on surrounding elements, like some electronic devices. In space it's even harder to detect, with nothing around it to interact with. Damn near impossible, I'd say, which is what amazes me about what Future Donatello did."

He looked like he had a lot more, but stopped as though someone had hit him in the stomach, looked at April and cleared his throat. April just _knew_ he had cut himself short of going on another fanboy ramble about his future self.

But before she could contribute, he went on. "Anyway, the point is, it's _kinda_ small to really fit anything through it. And that's where this little guy comes in." He held up the portable portal device. "When in contact with the wormhole, it will activate, and the three pieces will open like a regular Kraang portable portal. It's not working now, but when it does, the prisms inside will pull on the fabric of space-time, to temporarily pry it open, stretching it into a bigger hole through which the future turtles can pass."

"Like a speculum," April contributed, smirking at the very graphic gesticulations.

"Exactly!" For a second, Donnie only beamed, pointing at her with an enthusiastic fore-finger. "And because the wormhole is in constant movement, it needs something to fix the device to it. So we can't just use a tripod." He adorned his bad joke with a sheepish giggle, then opened the portal's casing to point at the little metallic disc, which she hadn't seen the previous day. "See, this little doodad here's the magnetic stabilizer. With it, the portal device will adhere to the moving wormhole like a magnet to a fridge—if the fridge was invisible, and on wheels." He held the device aloft and moved it horizontally like it was on hover rails. "It's gonna be moving pretty quickly though, so we gotta be careful and deactivate it once the future turtles are through, or it will float away."

Donnie's discourses could get pretty wordy, but that wasn't the reason April was distracted. No, it had been the sudden feel of pin-pricks on her temples. She shook her head in puzzlement.

"What?" Donnie asked with a slight frown, his presentation interrupted.

"Hm," she said, giving her forehead a soft rub to fend off the leftover discomfort. Luckily there seemed to be nothing else to it, and she shrugged it away. "So why can't Future Donatello open the portal from his side? Why did he ask you to do it?" she asked, nudging him on, making sure he knew she had payed attention despite the interruption.

"Well, he didn't say," Donnie continued reflectively. It was clearly something he'd asked himself already. "But I'm guessing he probably lost the portal— _this_ portal—at some point through the years, or maybe it was destroyed, and if the Kraang are still gone he had no other way of procuring a new one. Either that or it was damaged during the reverse-engineering process. It's on the list of things I want to ask him," he concluded around a big smile that brimmed with exhilaration. It was infectious, and she hopped on her heels, very much looking forward to more.

"Man, I can't wait! Anything I can do to help finish the portal?" she said eagerly, and Donnie responded in kind.

"Well, there's not much else. Future Donatello's instructions were so concise that I managed to do most of it today. But I _could_ use a set of human-sized fingers on these circuits." He turned to sort through his notes and all the little pieces of discarded hardware. "It's always hard soldering the tiny bits with these _sausages_."

At the word, April shot him a half-smile that was between amused and scolding, and Donnie looked at her naughtily like he knew full well that would bother her. She cocked her head to the side with a nose-chuckle before opening the drawer and retrieving the soldering iron.

"My hands are your hands," she said, and waited for instructions.

Donnie leaned over the desk. "Let's see. We need to connect these chips to the energy input, and weld the stabilizer to the core..."

But once again, as he spoke, April stopped hearing him. The sensation was back, except this time the pin-pricks were more like a stab to the forehead. A persistent buzzing in her ears had somehow creeped up on her, and now demanded her attention. As Donnie went on, soon it became a nasty headache, and she couldn't even pretend to be listening anymore.

 _Not again_ , she inwardly complained. Something similar had happened the previous evening while she waited for both the Hamato and the Lotus clan to come out of the dojo. It hadn't been this bad, though, but it had remained a mild nuisance during the course of the entire movie, right up until she got home. She must have caught some kind of bug, and she remembered Casey's comment about their colleagues Janice and Billy not coming to school, and how maybe it was flu season. Her project pal Janice had still not made it back, and April prayed she hadn't become infected with the same thing. She could not deal with this right now, and just when they were about to meet their future selves.

April rubbed at her temples, shutting her eyes tight, but the headache only seemed to go in crescendo. She felt the sudden urge to go stuff her head in the fridge next to Ice Cream Kitty and her ice cream bucket boyfriend.

"You up for it?"

April lifted her eyes to meet Donnie's questioning gaze, and her mouth dropped open stupidly, realizing she had missed a few of his sentences.

"Sorry, Donnie, uh… what did you say?"

"I said, are you up for some microscopic soldering?" He pointed with the soldering iron at the mess, and the microscope that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Oh! Sure," she said, blinking at the uncomfortable prickling at the back of her eyes.

"You okay?" he asked her, eyeing her warily.

"Yeah, I just… I think I might be coming down with something," she said, giving up all pretense.

Donnie dropped the iron and was on her in an instant with his doctor face. She tilted her head back to allow him to gingerly press his calloused palm to her forehead. The cool touch felt immensely comforting, and she almost leaned into it. She had to bite back a sound of disappointment when he took it away.

"Hmm, you're not warm. Is there a bug going around your school? What are your symptoms?" he asked, a little crease between his brows.

"Just a headache. And…" Her forehead gave a throb and she groaned. "I don't know, I have this pressure on my—"

She stopped. How didn't she figure it out before? She looked at Donnie, and Donnie looked at her, realization dawning on his features as well.

"Ohhh, is your April-sense tingling?" he practically whispered.

"I guess," she replied, unsure, but already paranoid, expecting some kind of disaster to burst its way through the door any second. Donnie appeared nervous as well. "I felt it last night too, but it's not what it usually feels like, which is why I didn't think of it that way. I kind of chalked it out to school stress. But now it's back, and it's been getting gradually worse since I got here." By this reasoning, she came to another conclusion. "It's gotta be something in the lair."

Donnie looked away thoughtfully for a moment, and from the expression on his face he must have been considering something important. "Come with me," he told her after a few seconds of intrigue.

He picked up their mugs—"Resident Genius" and "World's Best Lab Assistant", custom made—and beckoned her to the entrance of the lab where they could see the ninja pajama party still in full blow. Mikey had the controller this time, and was playing against Atsuko. His orange mask was a little askew, and the intensity on his face meant his character must be in trouble. Nobody seemed to have noticed Donnie and her.

Donnie handed her mug to her and leaned against the door with his own. "Act natural. Can you locate the source?"

Catching on, she leaned casually as well while taking a sip, pretending to watch the race. In reality, she was scanning the room—listening for the silence, like Master Splinter had taught her. It was like trying to echo-locate a mouse inside a stone wall, even more with all the noise.

"It's very faint. I'm having trouble getting a lock on it," she said. She could see Donnie watching her, waiting patiently and occasionally looking at the group of people, feigning laid-back interest.

"Take your time," he said softly.

She turned her head like a sonar disc, squinting in concentration. The feeling was stronger when she looked towards the far corner of the lair, near where Hachisu was sitting, still deeply concentrated on her book. "It's coming from the Lotus camp. I think it's in the pile of luggage."

"Are you sure?" Donnie looked down at his mug as he spoke in the most casual voice, wearing an almost bored expression.

"Yeah. Pretty sure," she confirmed, playing along.

Donnie turned, stepping through the door back inside the lab, and motioned for her to follow. As soon as the door was closed behind her, all composure was tossed in the bin next to the wrapper, and he cried, "I knew it! It's that ghost!"

"A _ghost_?" April repeated in surprise, wincing a little from the loudness in her sensitive ears.

"I'd been meaning to talk to you about it, actually," Donnie continued, leaning down close to her. "Last night, Mikey and I encountered what might have been an _onryō._ "

April let out a gasp. "Like… 'The Grudge'?"

Donnie nodded fervently. "It was a full apparition. Completely solid-looking. Mikey thought it was a zombie," he added with an amused scoff.

The rest of the story almost had her forget all about her headache. She couldn't figure out why she hadn't felt anything before. You'd think she would have noticed a supernatural entity roaming around the lair.

"Leo said to let it go, especially since it involved the leader of the Lotus. But I wanted to know what this was all about," Donnie carried on after his narration. Knowing him, he had to be more than a little frustrated, being forbidden to investigate. Like an itch he couldn't scratch. As a genius, he did have a bit of an obsessive tendency, but this time April had to admit he had a good reason to be restless.

"Let it _go_? Let an _onryō_ go?" she repeated in disbelief, wanting to know why Leo would just disregard something like this.

Donnie made a non-committing sound, scrunching one side of his face.

"To be fair, I have no way of telling whether this ghost is an actual _onryō_ , or if it is dangerous at all. And nothing else has happened since last night," he said, drawing up his shoulders.

"We gotta tell Leo. We have to talk to Hachisu about this," April insisted. Her pounding headache was something she couldn't just put aside. The sheer determination she injected in her voice seemed to give Donnie the incentive he needed, and he nodded, picking up his T-phone to send Leo a private text.

* * *

Donnie waited while Leo looked blankly at them. They'd met in the lab where they wouldn't be overheard, and he and April proceeded to tell him why they thought they should go ask Hachisu-no-Hana about this ghost right away.

"So you're saying she really _is_ carrying a ghost around in her backpack," Leo said slowly after the few seconds he seemed to need following Donnie's explanation, his lip quirking in a doubtful expression. He sighed. "I thought we were done with this."

"You said if there was something else, we would at least go ask her."

"I said I would think about it," Leo corrected primly, and Donnie groaned.

"Okay, well, this further proves Hachisu and the ghost are connected." He motioned at April, who stood by him as his most compelling piece of evidence.

"Are you _really_ sure about this?" Leo said, cringing and slumping a little bit, like asking Hachisu was the last thing he would rather do right now. The eyeliner under the blue fabric of his mask probably had something to do with his reluctance, Donnie thought.

April exhaled loudly. "At this point in the game you're asking me if I'm _sure_ about what I _feel_?" she demanded, her voice tense. Donnie gauged her carefully.

Leo eyed her too. "Well, your powers aren't always precise. You have to admit, you don't have a great grip on them."

A dangerous look was April's reply and Leo gave a slight frown. Donnie looked between them, not sure how to intervene. April's eyes were squinted, her jaw set in an irritated grimace.

Luckily Donnie didn't have to do anything, as Leo sighed and said, "Okay, we'll go ask her. But be polite."

Donnie didn't even have time to react to the suggestion that they'd be anything but polite, because April had pretty much shot off in the direction of the Lotus camp. Leo started after her, walking quickly to catch up, and Donnie followed.

They strode past the Mario Kart party, to where Hachisu was sitting. For a moment Donnie half-expected April to just point and yell at the Lotus leader. But she stopped—thank heavens—so that Leo could approach the woman first.

Leo spoke in a small voice, as April stood behind him with her hands on her hips. "I'm terribly sorry, Hachisu-no-Hana-san, but may we talk to you for a moment?"

The Lotus leader obliged immediately, getting up and allowing them to lead her to a quiet corner. Donnie noticed Raph casting a mildly curious glance at them as they walked by the pit, but remained in his seat. Once they were out of sight, past the kitchen entrance, Hachisu waited politely for them to speak.

Leo fumbled. "Please forgive our indiscretion, but… Well, here's the thing: we were worried about…" he stuttered, and Donnie felt the urge to step up and contribute.

But April beat him to it, which kinda made him wish they'd agreed beforehand to let Leo do all the talking. April had reasons to be exasperated—heavens knew a migraine could make anyone cranky. Still, she wasn't being quite herself. But who would dare tell her that right now?

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san, there's some kind of entity in the lair, and we know you brought it here with you."

Donnie did his best not to cringe, and was sure Leo was screaming inside his head, because April had just managed a more polite version of calling someone on their bullshit.

She hadn't been harsh, or anything. Her voice was actually relatively cool, considering her current state. It must have taken quite a bit of willpower. But unfortunately it was far from the manners someone like Hachisu would deem acceptable.

Sweating slightly, Donnie added quickly in an attempt to fix it, "Uh, we were just concerned. We could be of some help."

There wasn't much in Hachisu's expression that said so, but she wasn't pleased. She held them in her steely gaze for a few moments, shoulders stiff. Then, ignoring April completely, she turned to Leo.

"I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a rude manner, much less being interrogated. Whatever I carry with me is none of your business," she said in a level voice that nonetheless resonated with contained anger.

Leo winced, and lowered his head. "Of course, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. Our apologies."

"What?" April said. "No, Leo, we have to—"

Donnie quickly interrupted her by softly touching her arm. "We… just want to make sure you were all right."

"I am perfectly fine," Hachisu insisted with the same controlled tone. "If you'll excuse me."

And _that_ would be a polite way of telling someone to go suck a lemon…

Leo bowed his head low. "Of course, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. Forgive us." And he shot April a warning side-glance. _Don't say another word._ To which April just glared, lips pressed in a thin line.

Hachisu gave them a quick polite nod before walking away, leaving behind her a thick silence.

With one look, Leo ordered them both to meet back in the lab. Donnie followed him and April, not looking forward to when the doors were closed and they were out of earshot of the Lotus.

"Great. Wonderful," Leo grumbled between his teeth after the metallic clank of the doors, visibly and audibly furious. "You guys just couldn't let it go, could you?"

"I'm sorry, Leo, but this could-"

"I don't want to hear any more of it. You heard Hachisu; there's nothing going on. Splinter's gonna freak when he finds out we've been bothering his guests..."

"Leo, she's not telling the whole truth! I _know_ she isn't," April motioned at her own head, which was enough to make her point.

"And what has gotten into _you_?" Leo exclaimed, whipping around at April.

Donnie felt the urge to stand between them, but to be fair April _was_ very high-strung. She stood squarely, arms crossed at Leo.

"Of course Hachisu's not telling us everything," Leo kept going. "It's obviously something very personal to her! Asking her about it was extremely offensive!"

"Dude, Leo, she's carrying around a _ghost_ , for Pete's sake!" Donnie insisted, unable to believe he could just wave this away like nobody's business.

"So what if she is?" Leo snapped. "I don't see any of the other Lotus ninjas be affected by it. Actually, I don't see _her_ being affected by it."

Donnie let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Um, how about last night, when we found her wandering the sewers in her pajamas? And what about _us_? That thing looked like she was going for Raph. She looked like she was about to do something to him."

"Yeah, _looked_ like," Leo said dismissively. "Look, I'm not saying we should forget about it completely. Those are all things to keep an eye on. But the truth is, nobody got hurt last night, and nothing else is happening so far. Just like Hachisu is perfectly fine now. Also, sensei trusts her!" he added pointedly, motioning in the direction of the dojo.

Donnie had to exchange a look with April, because that was true, and he really hadn't thought about it.

"It's not technically _hurting_ anybody, so what's it to you, Donnie?" Leo pressed on. "Can't you just switch off your unquenchable thirst for knowledge for like five minutes?" His voice was tense now, his words cutting through the air like kunai. "Do you _know_ this thing poses a threat to any of us?"

Donnie pursed his lips, feeling cornered. He hated to admit he really _couldn't_ know. None of Hachisu's followers seemed ill or perturbed. He searched April's gaze, hoping she had a good counter-argument, but she was staring at the floor, a deep crease splitting her brow. He considered the way she was seemingly clenching her teeth, but it was hard to determine whether the bout of anger was related to the ghost, or more a result of her discomfort. After all, her mood had been a bit erratic lately, and he felt it would not stand as evidence…

"We keep an eye out," Leo reiterated curtly. "But until there's actual proof that this thing is a danger to us, I don't want you bothering Hachisu, or any of the Lotus, again. That's an _order_ , guys." He held them in a level stare. April only lifted her eyes for a moment before lowering them again with an impatient sigh. "Donnie?"

Leo's warning tone gave Donnie no option. He crossed his arms, but looked away in resign. "Alright," he agreed finally.

Leo waited a little to break eye contact, then turned around and left in an angry march. Defeated, Donnie closed the doors behind his brother.

"I guess that's th-" he started to say, but April cut him off.

"This is bullshit!" she spat, apparently at nobody in particular.

Donnie couldn't help the twitch in his lips at her choice of words.

"Well, we tried," he said in a small voice, happy enough that she wasn't angry at _him_.

Then April swivelled around, looking agitated, her face slightly scrunched up. "I can't just let this go. It's a little hard not to think about it," she protested, pointing at her head. "It was driving me mad! When she was near, I just- I couldn't concentrate."

Donnie eyed her worriedly as she paced back and forth like a caged panther. The way she had spoken to Hachisu; not exactly insulting, but... It wasn't like her.

"Are… you alright?" he said cautiously.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him, and for a moment he actually thought she was going to lash out at him. But she only took a deep breath.

"It's okay, I'm a bit better now. Maybe a pain killer will help," she said, and Donnie was immensely relieved to hear her voice was already back to normal April levels of angry—which admittedly could still be pretty scary.

"I still have those Tylenols you got us," he offered, and went to get them when she accepted. "Before you take this, could you tell me anything else that could be helpful?" he said once he'd retrieved the small box from the first-aid cabinet and handed it to April.

"Not much," she replied, and seemed to ponder for a moment, her hands toying with the box of pills. "Just that whatever it was, it must have been _on_ her, or around her. I immediately felt better the moment she walked away."

Donnie racked his brains. 'On her, or around her'. How did that even work? Was she actually somehow possessed like Raph had suggested, albeit jokingly? Or maybe...

"Urgh…" April emitted something between a sigh and a grunt, tearing him from his thoughts. "I didn't really handle things well out there, did I?" she said, now sounding troubled instead of angry. "Was I very offensive?"

"Uh…" Donnie stammered around a nervous chuckle. "Not too offensive, but… not smooth either."

Her head hang, and she gave a self-deprecating huff. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It was the ghost." Donnie said kindly, laying a comforting hand on her back. Now that she appeared to feel better, he knew it was true. "We can just explain to Leo later, when he's a little less... frustrated."

April offered a weak smile as thanks before wincing. She rubbed her forehead and groaned.

"Do _you_ think it's dangerous?" he asked, seeing this, and the way this thing seemed to have affected her.

"I don't know. I don't know if it's an immediate threat, or…" April tilted her head to the side, eyes squinted in concentration. "Not really? But it could be. I'm still not at ease, anyway. I sense anger." She looked at him and chuckled. "It's definitely angry."

"I'd say so," Donnie said, and not just because of what April was feeling. He was thinking back to the previous night—the cold all around him, chilling him to the bone; that suffocating sense of helplessness. He wasn't one to trust instinct, or gut feelings, but somehow he _knew_ it had to be more serious than what Leo wanted to believe—even when his brother had brought up a couple of pretty solid points. He just had nothing to prove it.

Donnie shook his head, wondering once again why the future turtles wouldn't warn them about this ghost if they knew it would be here, unless it really was nothing to worry about. But who could say for certain that their timeline had developed the same way?

That's when he suddenly realized something, and froze.

He could see April watching him curiously before he turned to her, awestruck. "The future turtles didn't say anything about a ghost, but they did mention a Chinese red pendant," he said, brain going faster than his mouth. "What if… What if they're connected? What if they're the same thing? Remember Ho-Chan?"

April's eyes widened. "The source was definitely small, it could have been a small object," she said, obviously seeing it too. "I can't tell what it was, but if it was _on_ her... Maybe in a pocket?"

"Last night she kept holding her side, like this." Donnie cupped one hand on his waist, remembering the state in which they'd found Hachisu in the sewers. His mouth fell open. "We should tell Leo!"

But April scoffed. "He'll never agree to bothering Hachisu-no-Hana again just for that. You saw how pissed he was. And she didn't seem about to admit anything either."

The optimistic, keen side of his mind rebelled, because surely this was an exciting enough hypothesis to get Leo on board again. But the logical side reminded him of the fact that that's just what it was: a hypothesis. And this whole ordeal had already inflicted more embarrassment on Leo than his proud brother was probably able to digest. Moreover, it still didn't prove that this thing was dangerous.

Donnie slumped. "Yeah… You're right. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out."

"No." The decisiveness in April's voice caught Donnie off guard. "That's not good enough. What if Hachisu is under its influence? She's living in our _home_ , Donnie. We can't just let this slide and hope it's nothing."

For a moment, nothing interested Donnie but the fact that April considered the lair her home. Something in his chest swelled and he allowed himself a little smile now that April wasn't looking, then had to conjure back the rest of her sentence in order to react accordingly.

He considered her words, partly wanting to agree with her just for the fact that it would mean looking deeper into the subject. "She did look pretty terrible when we found her, and then a minute later she was alright again," he said thoughtfully. "But like Leo said, Splinter seems to trust her. That has to count for something. And you didn't pick up on anything right up until now, right?"

"I dunno…" she said in a small voice, looking doubtful. "It's still all fishy to me. And now I can't stop thinking about that pendant. We need more data," she said just like when they worked out a scientific problem together.

"That might be difficult," Donnie said with a glance at his computer. "I doubt I'd be able to contact Future Donatello now."

"I wasn't talking about Future Donatello," she said, and the little twinkle in her eyes intrigued him. "I say we do a little ninja investigating. Would it be too horrible to take a little peek inside Hachisu's bag?"

Donnie reeled. "Uh… I'd say so, yes! She's our honored guest!"

"Just a peek," she repeated with a cheeky shrug. "We borrow whatever's holding that ghost for a few minutes, run some tests, put it back, no harm done. If it turns out to be nothing, she won't even know."

She made it sound so simple, Donnie was almost inclined to accept right away. But there were a few good reasons not to.

"Sensei would be furious. We'd be doing push ups until New Year's."

"This thing could turn out really dangerous. I think Master Splinter would understand if it meant keeping you guys safe. I could sleep over and we could sneak in when everybody's asleep."

Donnie rewinded April's words in his head, and replayed the part that had caught his attention out loud. "You'd sleep over?"

April gave a fervent nod.

He felt as though his mind was being pulled from opposite sides by two horses, and feared it would rip right down the middle. He didn't want to go against orders, or risk angering Hachisu and by extension Sensei. But April's plan sure was tempting. For several reasons.

"Leo will never approve," Donnie still said, weakly.

"Then I guess Leo's on a need-to-know basis," April retorted primly.

He stared, taken aback and conflicted, at April's cheeky grin and sparkling eyes. Who was he kidding? He was already sold.

Before he could stop it, his mouth started curling into a lopsided smirk, and he gave in. "You're a vixen, April O'Neil," he purred and she lifted her chin proudly.

"Don't tell Raph. Or Mikey. _Especially_ Mikey."

"Agreed," Donnie said. "Too bad. Dr. Prankenstein would be a great asset."

"Speaking of which, I'm going to get a glass of water," she said, holding up the box of pills with a look of mischief. "How about we work on our retribution to Dr. Prankenstein while we're at it?"

Donnie's evil grin spread wider. That was another thing he was certainly looking forward to.

* * *

The game party was over, the Lotus ninjas had long since gone out to their patrol, and Mikey's thumbs and butt were numb. But he had a dinner to prepare.

And Mikey never backed down from dinner.

The guys were nowhere to be seen, which Mikey found weird, how quiet it was. But the thought only passed by him like a disoriented fly. The guys must be all to their own things, Mikey guessed. It was actually perfect because that meant he was free to work on his art without their nagging and complaints breaking his inspiration. "Olives don't go with whipped cream, Mikey! Flambéed lasagna milkshake is not a thing, Mikey!" Peasants.

Dancing his way past the curtains, Mikey gazed upon his very own laboratory of wonders and rubbed his hands, eager to begin.

First thing he did, as always, was an inventory check. Shimmying his way around the kitchen to the beat of the clangs and pangs of casseroles and bowls, he took out everything that was edible—or mostly edible—and set it on the table for easy viewing. Ah, an artist's palette. So much potential... What could go well with ice cream? Each combination he came up with in his head was more and more exciting. Luckily he had plenty of ice cream for some trial and error. Time to take out the main ingredient and begin!

He dipped a finger in some mayo on his way to the fridge and licked it, humming merrily and unable to stop the salivating. He yanked open the freezer door, expecting some good ol' kitty love. The cold air hit his face, and when the vapor cleared, he too froze.

The big ice cream bucket had been moved, barely, but enough that he could tell. And the lid was slightly crooked, like it hadn't been closed all the way. But what stopped his heart was the sight of Ice Cream Kitty, surrounded by…

Mikey gasped and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. They were kittens! Six ice cream kittens surrounding their momma as she tenderly licked on a droopy ice cream ear. The proud mother lifted her head and shone a bright mommy smile at Mikey.

He shrieked. "Oh my _God_! It actually happened! Ice Cream Kitty, no!" he cried in a panic, hands on his head.

He stared at the six little figures and they stared back with beady eyes full of malice. Ice Cream Kitty must have sneaked out like a rebellious daughter in a teenage comedy, and now there were six homicidal gremlin kittens on the loose!

"Guys! Guys, come quick! Donnie!"

As he swivelled to make a dash for the door, there was a flash of white. Mikey stopped dead in his tracks, blinded.

"Hah! One for your album, Mikey!" he heard Raph's voice hollering, followed by a chorus of laughter. Blinking his eyes open, and once the spot on his vision faded, he saw all his brothers, and April, and even Karaiwa, pointing and cackling at him. And then Mikey knew.

He looked in the freezer again and Ice Cream Kitty waved at him among all the ice cream lumps sculpted to look like kittens. Wow, he totally fell for that one.

"You too, Kitty?" He pointed an accusing forefinger, and Kitty mewled mischievously.

But his outrage, if it was ever that, lasted barely a puff of ninja smoke in the company of all his siblings and friends, and he was also surprised and relieved that Karaiwa and Leo were there as well, sharing the fun. If they could laugh together like this, then it had been totally worth it—and maybe Mikey's eyeliner prank hadn't completely ruined their relationship, which was also good.

"You're all a bunch of jerks!" he screamed at them all, but then joined in the laughter, and ran to Donnie's T-phone. He cackled with the rest at his own frenzied grimace, eyes wide and mouth agape in a scream of terror.

* * *

 **Remember, reviews are writer chow! Let us know what you think of the way the story is unfolding, the characters, your speculations for the future... And of course, we're open to feedback^^**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21

**HERE IT IS, AND JUST IN TIME FOR APRITELLO DAY!**

 **Enjoy ^3^**

 **As always, huge thanks to our betas Queequegg and Theherocomplex 3**

* * *

Casey rolled his shoulders, muscles cracking, and his groan resonated down the lonely street. Hockey practice had been brutal—and he was friends with Raph!

Coach was so pissed they wouldn't qualify for the state semifinals—Billy leaving them high and dry meant they were short one player, thank you Billy—that he'd prepared the toughest workout Casey remembered. And all _that_ did was piss everyone off, until a fight broke out. Any other day coach would break it up eventually, barking and spitting like a bulldog. "Save it for the game!" But not this time. This time it was part of the workout.

Now Casey had bruises on his bruises—heh, bruised bruises—so many that he almost didn't feel like patrolling.

Almost.

Who was he kidding? He wouldn't miss patrol with Raph if he had a broken femur. He'd say he could use the distraction, and somehow he'd pull it off. He was struck by the most awesome mental image of Raph carrying him on piggyback, as he swung at the bad guys from his shoulders like a polo player. A snort escaped him, and he groaned again at the resulting pang in his ribs. Wincing, he massaged the sore spot, then brought his hand to his nose and took a whiff.

"Phoo!"

His hockey shirt reeked like a monkey's cage, so bad it was putting _him_ off. Considering a shower before patrol, he fanned the hem of his shirt a little in the cool night breeze, then stretched it to his nose and sniffed again. Nah, just needed to be aired out a little.

As he continued fanning, he felt a buzz in his butt pocket, and the little tune made him grin: Cinderella. Raph would love it.

The text came with a little angry face.

 _ **idontgiveaflyingf:**_ _Dude, where are you? Thought we were going patrol-skating tonight._

Casey swung his bag over his shoulder and held the phone in both hands to start dumping typo-ridden complaints on Raph. A few tiny raindrops started sprinkling the screen by the time he reached his place, and he finished his rant with a not-at-all-exaggerated statement.

 _ **IAmCaseyJones:**_ _dude i am BROKEN_

 _if taht asshole billy isnt dead, im gonna kill him!1_

He hit send and stuffed his phone in his pocket to climb the fire escape ladder to his dad's balcony. As he retrieved the bag with all his gear from his window sill, he threw a glance at the light coming through the living room blinds. Dad was back from his late shift, but most likely snoring in front of the TV by now. Not that Casey would bother to inform him of his plans anyway.

Footsteps echoed nearby, and he caught sight of a figure stumbling down the empty street.

Dude seemed very high or very drunk, or both, looking around as if disoriented. It wasn't a rare sight in this neighborhood, but something about this guy told Casey he wasn't one of the usuals. There was an especially fishy stench about him that Casey didn't like.

Careful not to grab his attention, keeping an eye on him in case he tried something, Casey climbed back down. It wasn't until his shoes touched the silty pavement and the guy turned for a brief second that he recognized him.

Billy.

 _I knew it! He wasn't sick, motherfucker was out getting wasted!_

Casey emitted a high-pitched scoff of disbelief. Bruised bruises or not, he couldn't just walk away now. Maybe it was time he put on his hockey mask and gave Billy a taste of coach's special training.

"Bill!" he yelled, the sound slashing through the silence.

No answer. Billy's head twitched slightly, then he kept walking. Probably drunk himself deaf. He looked like he could be headed for his place, which was only a few blocks up the street. Casey took off after him.

"Hey, Bill!" he shouted, catching up to stride alongside him. But Billy still acted as though he hadn't even heard or seen him.

There was a weird smell in the air, and it wasn't Casey's hockey shirt. At first Casey thought someone must have been mopping the sidewalk with bleach, but the strong chemical stench was actually coming off of Billy. One of the sleeves on his sweater was pulled up to his elbow.

"Eugh! What the fuck, man! What have you been taking? Where you been?" Casey sped up to get in his way and gave Billy a shove on the shoulder, trying to make him stop for a damn minute and face him. The guy clearly needed help, at the very least just to get home safely.

But Billy pulled away from Casey's grasp, looking right at him with a snarl before changing direction. The smell of his breath almost threw Casey on his back, and he stumbled sideways, clasping his nose and mouth.

"Dude…" he gasped, running to catch up to Billy again just as they passed a streetlight, and he had a better look at him under the dim orange light. "Damn!"

Billy's clothes were full of weird brown stains, and his sleeve wasn't pulled up like Casey had thought; it was torn off at the elbow. The skin of his arm was bruised and puffy. His eyes looked sunken, pale face greasy and sweaty, and Casey didn't feel like badgering him anymore. His old team-mate was in real bad shape. And still he pressed on, completely ignoring Casey.

Changing tactics, Casey tried lowering his voice to sound helpful. He reached out to grab what was left of his sleeve. "Yo, Bill, you alright? Maybe I should get you to a-"

Billy's fist came at him full force. The dry blow to the sternum propelled him backwards, his feet leaving the ground. He landed and skid across the street, feeling his clothes rip on the pavement. Too concentrated on the pain, the wind knocked out of him, he'd hardly noticed the pair of headlights approaching fast.

A car horn blared and Casey's body reacted on reflex. He rolled to avoid the tires now screeching to a halt, hitting his head against the curb as a result.

"Ow!" Once it was clear he wasn't getting run over, Casey pressed his hand against the pain and checked for blood. Luckily his fingers were clean… ish. He tried to get up, rubbing the fresh lump, and another jolt of pain cut through his hip. He didn't have enough hands to cover all the places in his body that were hurting. At least he didn't seem to have broken anything.

Finally he managed to get upright using the car as leverage, and almost bumped into the driver who had just stepped out.

"The hell you doing, boy?" the old woman squealed, looking half-worried, half-annoyed. "You on drugs?"

"Never mind, grandma!" Casey waved her off, turning to look for Billy.

"Bah!"

Casey heard the woman mumbling something sounding a lot like "shitty neighborhood". Then the door closed, and the car took off.

But by then, Billy was gone, the street deserted.

 _Yo, screw that._

He rubbed his head again, then his scraped knees, then his sternum, thinking Billy was definitely stronger than he looked.

A vibration on his butt-cheek told him Cinderella had just texted him back. Good thing he'd landed on the pocket with the wallet, and not his phone. He reached for it with a hand full of scratches, excited to tell Raph what had just gone down.

 _ **IAmCaseyJones:**_ _i was almst run over hahha! and youll never guess who i just litterly bumped into!_

* * *

April sleeping over excited Donnie more than he would ever dare proclaim. It hadn't happened since they got back from the farmhouse several months ago. From what he overheard April say over the phone, he could make a pretty good guess as to what the reason was for that.

"I can really use Donnie's feedback on these problems," he heard her say softly as she paced back and forth by the turnstiles.

So yeah, that might have confirmed it: Kirby apparently wasn't thrilled. Donnie felt his hopes for the night crumble before his eyes. But then, at last, after a bit of insisting, April smiled. "I promise, no late night patrols. Love you too. Bye."

Donnie couldn't really blame the man for worrying. After all he'd been through, letting April stay over on a school night was a show of good faith. Donnie was actually impressed. When April came back, he regretted to see a trace of guilt tainting her triumphant expression.

He was a little ashamed himself of how much he missed the old days, when April had to live with him and his brothers. If only they could do that again, but without the need for alien invasions, or a missing father, or homicidal kunoichis trying to kill them all.

He was momentarily shocked to realise he was referring to Karai. The very same Karai that was sharing a roof with him and his family. Talk about a plot twist...

And because Karai had to sleep somewhere—as well as have her own cave to lurk in and decorate—they'd given her the guest room, which had been April's once.

Refusing to let April sleep on the lab's wobbly old cot, with the other option being letting her join the Lotus camp, Donnie had offered his own room. Actually, it was more accurate to say he'd had to force her, as April kept protesting. But after a few well-reasoned arguments—Donnie was more than used to the cot, and April did have school in the morning, and needed to be well-rested—he finally got her to agree. Even then, he'd still had to fight her over changing the sheets.

"I said it's okay!" she cried a fourth time as Donnie pulled the sheets off the bed, slowly but surely. He took it really calmly just to see her struggle as she went around undoing his work. Soon they were each pulling from opposite sides of the old sheet in a childish tug of war, giggling uncontrollably. April was laughing so hard that the sheet slipped from her fingers and she stumbled butt-first into the bookcase. Donnie quickly crumpled it into a ball before she could recover, and tossed the bundle out the door. Unfortunately for Leo, he was just passing by with a cup of tea, and got hit squarely in the face.

"Can't a turtle drink his tea in peace in this place?" Leo groused, the now tea-stained sheet rolled at his feet, empty tea cup dangling from his finger. The disapproving Queen Leo glare on his face only made them laugh harder.

"It's your fault! Why do you always have to walk around with that perpetual cup of tea?" April laughed breathlessly as she helped Leo clean up the mess. Donnie took the opportunity to quickly finish making the bed, earning a satisfying glower of mock-outrage from her.

Then Mikey's voice boomed from across the lair, "Gu-u-u-uys, dinner's ready! Come get i-i-i-it!" and Donnie cast a terrified glance in its direction.

With all this sleeping over business, he'd completely forgotten about Mikey's promise to put that ice cream to good use, and judging from Leo's and April's looks of dread, so had they.

Mikey welcomed the household to the kitchen like it was the Ritz, completely oblivious to the expressions of doom on all of their faces. They marched to their seats like they were about to have their sentences read to them.

"I give you 'Fried Ice Cream á la Mikey'!" the chef announced.

Apparently 'á la Mikey' meant the bacon grease Mikey had deep fried the scoops in hadn't been hot enough—or the ice-cream wasn't cold enough—and the whole thing had melted in the pan. The result was a kind of oily chocolate-fudge tortilla with chopped chilis and a crunchy burned base, topped by maple syrup and cheeseball bits. Donnie's stomach flip-flopped as the smell hit him.

"If I didn't know you better, Mikey," Raph said, sniffing the spoonful warily, "I'd say this was your revenge for earlier."

Donnie had been about to suggest the same thing. But no, Mikey seemed to believe he was doing them a service. As for the Ice-Cream Kittens, they'd have to get rid of them behind Mikey's back, since he seemed determined to keep them in the freezer forever.

As a joke, Donnie then proposed a hypothesis: that this family had survived Mikey's cooking all these years only thanks to their mutagen-enhanced gastrointestinal tracts. This thankfully might include April, with her half-Kraang nature. As for Karai… Obviously she had to have some superpowers left over from her time as a mutant. But since he couldn't just grab someone to the street and subject them to the same variables, there wasn't enough data to corroborate this hypothesis.

While they were still laughing at that, they all managed a few bites of the disastrous fried ice-cream before even Mikey admitted he might have gone a bit overboard with the… everything. Thankfully he allowed a plan B, which consisted of a dozen packages of instant noodles. That didn't stop him from eating everyone else's leftovers though.

"I mean, I can't let it go to waste," he mumbled through a mouthful.

While he gobbled down his own masterpiece's shredded, burnt remains, Mikey retold his and Donnie's encounter with the ghost the previous night for April and Karai, narrating every detail and then some. More than once, Donnie felt obligated to debunk a few exaggerations.

As Mikey yammered on, Donnie managed to catch April's eye. She gave him the tiniest of hidden smirks that made him feel as though the noodles in his stomach had just come alive. None of the others knew their plans to borrow Hachisu's mystery object for a little paranormal investigation.

Donnie peeked over at Leo, fearing he might have seen the exchange, but his brother's watchful eye was on Karai. Karai, however, had been as casual as ever the entire meal, if a tad less chatty than usual, although he couldn't say that was a weird thing. It was hard to tell with Karai, as she was a renowned master of deception.

Eventually dinner—if it even deserved that qualification—was adjourned. As they evacuated the kitchen and Raph headed out to patrol with Casey, skateboard under his arm, Donnie exchanged a meaningful look with April. She cocked her head towards the lab as confirmation.

But knowing April was sleeping over, Karai intercepted them just as they were heading out the kitchen to 'kidnap her' for a girls' night. And because Mikey was totally against labels, he automatically latched onto that plan like a bag of bolts to a neodymium magnet.

Donnie had to click his tongue at the slight delay of his and April's plans, but smiled, happy enough to see Karai in a better mood and confidently leading the trio to her room.

"I guess I have no choice," April said aloud, glancing back at Donnie.

He laughed silently, and shot her a covert wink. As she was being dragged away, April winked back with the tiniest of hidden smirks that made his insides tingle eagerly.

* * *

In the ninety-three minutes that April was Karai's captive, Donnie had time to prepare his cot, set up a nice ghost-hunting mini-lab, and even take a stimulating, near-scalding shower. He got out just in time to let in the first of a line of ninjas in need of a toilet. Maybe he _should_ start thinking about setting up a second bathroom, like Raph had so kindly suggested about a bazillion times...

For a couple of minutes, Donnie hung around in the common room to snoop, in case the Lotus brought interesting news. But the ninjas had arrived tired and empty-handed, and did little other than say _konichiwa_ and keep the bathroom busy for a while.

Perfect.

Back in his lab, and with some time to spare, he decided to give the portal's circuits, which April had helped him solder earlier, a dry run with a test battery. He plugged it in, released the charge, and the portal lit up like a neon lamp. _Booyakasha_ , he thought with a smile, sitting back to gloat over a work well done: the circuits were good to go.

"Cool! Pimp my portal device," a voice said a few steps behind him: April's voice. Finally!

Donnie laughed as he unplugged the device, putting an end to the light show. "Actually, the crystals do that."

But when he looked up at the voice, he had to do a double take to bypass a mental hiccup, as for a fraction of a second he didn't recognize the person standing at the threshold. She looked like an alternate version of April from some parallel universe where she'd been raised in 'the hood'.

She was wearing everything Donnie had never seen her wear: a black, baggy T-Shirt with the words "Ninjas do it in the Dark" in bright red, imitating kanji, and patterned boxer shorts that looked like they'd been stolen from an 8-year-old boy's pajamas. Also, her hair was down, except for a french braid on the side of her head showing off the purple streak.

"Wow," he said, his voice breaking a little. He was a bit confused as to how to react, because the relaxed tom-boyishness of the gettup was weirdly revealing and… kinda nice? "Uh, is that you, April? Did you and Karai fuse or something?"

She snorted, moving closer. "Something. I didn't have my pajamas here since I didn't stop by my place, so Karai let me borrow some clothes. But it was a trap," she added glumly, holding up her spread fingers and showing off metallic, bright yellow, nail polish like she had been marked by the enemy. "I got off easy. They wanted to do full makeup on me, but I put my foot down. I did _not_ feel like washing my face again."

Indeed, her face was makeup free now, her lashes and eyebrows no longer dark, but the same color of her hair—a rare and wonderful sight, as she was always very self-conscious about anyone seeing her without her mascara on. Kind of like how Raph rarely came out of his room without his mask.

"Karai, on the other hand, went all out," April went on. "I'm a little sorry to say she taught Mikey a thing or two… You might want to lock your rooms at night."

But Donnie was still stuck in his own wonderings, basking in the way her hair cascaded down her shoulders, silky and orange like a gentle candle flame, and the pleasing combination of orange with the aqua in her eyes. He never understood why she didn't like her natural lashes. They gave her a kind of magical look that he found fascinating—mystical almost—the way they were near invisible, but shone bright copper in direct light. Her features looked softer like this, fading in and out of view depending on the angle, like a mirage, a fairy creature.

"Looks awesome," he blurted out, every brain cell now concentrated on not letting his jaw hang open.

"What, the nailpolish?"

Donnie blanched at April's raised brow, realizing he had pretty much spoken in response to his own inner musings. His jaw hung open.

"Just… everything, I guess. Black suits you," he said, almost certain the pounding of his heart would affect his voice if he wasn't careful.

She chuckled. "Black goes with everything anyway."

Why was he getting flustered? She had done the opposite of dressing up: she had actually dressed _down_!

He needed to change the subject quick before he started stuttering again. Setting those questions aside for the time being, he swivelled in his chair to face his computer and swallowed hard once he was sure his mighty adam's apple was out of view.

Let's see. What was he doing here again?

"I've been... doing some research."

"On the ghost?"

He felt a touch on his shoulder: her hand.

"...yeah."

He had looked at her for barely a second, but the image remained burned in his mind: pale, freckled thighs, peeking at him from underneath those short shorts. He reprimanded himself and willed his mind to focus. Ghosts. Portals. Go!

"Oh, hello. What's he for?" April said before Donnie could start, and he almost jumped at her voice. She was leaning in beside him, smiling at the little spy-roach that was standing by next to the computer mouse, as though listening in to their conversation.

"Ah, yes," Donnie said, thankful for the distraction. "I thought we could wait until Hachisu enters REM sleep, so she'll be harder to wake up. He," Donnie pointed at the roach, "is going to help us keep watch from up close, maybe even take a look at whatever she's hiding beforehand."

"Good idea. We could send him out right now. The Lotus are getting ready for bed," she said, pointing a thumb at the lab entrance.

With an agreeing nod, he picked up the bug with the micro-camera, tapped its tiny head with the tip of his finger, and set him down on the floor. The roach scurried away and disappeared under the door.

Donnie rolled back to his PC, pressed some keys and _pop_ : roach vision. April leaned closer, and they both watched as the common room flew past, almost unrecognizable from an insect's perspective. Everything always seemed huge from down there. The roach dodged a few giant feet towards the end of the room and hid under the weapons rack that the Lotus had borrowed.

From there they could see the ninjas set up their futons and sleeping bags on the living room floor. Donnie gave the little guy a nudge with the up-key and let him position near Hachisu's side of the camp. The Lotus leader turned around—looking from this angle as though she'd just fallen from the beanstalk—and for a moment they saw something in her hand as she knelt by her sleeping bag.

"There! It's gotta be inside that box," April said, whispering as though they were really there, and pointed at the little wooden box now set on the floor next to the sleeping bag. It looked like Hachisu wanted it close while she slept.

Donnie nodded, squinting. There was no way of telling what was inside from there.

Finally Hachisu laid down, ready to go to sleep.

"There you go. Now we wait," Donnie said.

"Alright. Any more ideas?"

Donnie pushed back from the desk. "Well, I've set up some equipment."

For the next few minutes he walked her through all the things he had already researched and prepared while she was doing time in Karai's room. The new ghost hunting corner of the lab consisted of a digital camera on a tripod equipped with a heat sensor, three lamps shining down on the desk for proper lighting, a second videotape camera on the wall to capture a wider angle, and last but not least, an EM meter and a cassette tape recorder.

Egon Spengler would be proud.

They had plenty of time before Hachisu fell asleep, so they assumed maximum-productivity positions—side-by-side at their respective computers—and summed up what they knew about this ghost so far.

It wasn't much. For one, they still didn't know that she was an onryō, because it had yet to prove dangerous. He discussed this at length with April, who was surprisingly ghost-savvy, being the horror movie enthusiast that she was.

"She could be something like a _yuan gui_ ; not necessarily dangerous, just grieving," she suggested.

"Could be," he agreed, pleased to see they were on the same wavelength.

It had to have some sort of link to Hachisu, that much they knew. If everything went well, they would soon be able to examine the possessed object up close, whatever it was. Donnie expected to find a red Chinese pendant, like the one Future Donatello had mentioned. "Make sure it's safe," he had said, which was reasonably troubling.

"And listen to this." April pointed at her laptop. "In Thai folklore, a _phi tai thong klom_ is the ghost of a woman that passed away while pregnant."

"Well, those injuries on her torso were different from that, they looked like cuts. But I suppose that doesn't mean she couldn't still be—" He paused. April's eyes had glinted unnaturally for a moment. He turned, a little startled, only to find that she had, at some point, put on a pair of glasses.

"Oh!" he exclaimed.

"What?" she said with a tinge of threat in her voice. She was intently looking at him out of the corner of her eye as if she didn't want to be seen from the front.

"Nothing," he said, but couldn't keep serious for the life of him. Those glasses were not the most flattering of things: black, thick-rimmed cat-eyes. He was pretty sure she must have inherited them from her grandmother. He chuckled. "I mean, it's just that I haven't seen you in those since… probably that time you were living in the lair."

She gave him a sour smirk, taking the specs off to peer at them. "I hate these things. I took my contacts off because they were starting to fuse to my corneas, and I didn't bring any spares. I thought I'd be able to see fine, but now my eyes resent me," she explained with a wince, blinking hard a few times. "I guess I'm blinder than I thought." She gave the glasses one last nasty scowl before putting them back on.

"You know, you shouldn't be without your lenses, or your glasses," Donnie said in a gentle scolding, unable to help himself. "Straining your eyes like that is only going to increase your prescription."

"I know," she droned through a tired sigh. "I actually used to wear them all the time, before I met you guys—until I saw my picture for the high school card."

"What was wrong about it?" Donnie asked curiously.

"It was so hideous that I had an epiphany." She shivered.

"Hideous?" Donnie blew a raspberry and added, quite sincerely, "Come on, that's impossible." With another covert once-over at her current get-up, he knew she could dress in a garbage bag and he'd still find her beautiful.

A crooked, unbelieving smile, which the glasses only improved, was her reaction. "Wanna bet?" She reached down for her backpack and retrieved her wallet. "No laughing, okay?" she warned, holding a card to her shirt so that he couldn't see the front side yet.

"'Kay." He shrugged, intrigued to see whatever could make April ugly—especially since so far that evening several things had already tried and failed.

And when she flipped the card, he gawked, and plucked it from her fingers to look at the picture up close.

Donnie had never seen anything so wonderful. A slightly younger April was smiling at him—no, grinning, mouth stretched from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, unabashedly showing off the metal on her teeth. Her glasses augmented her eyes to cartoonish proportions. "Holy Toledo!"

"Hey!" April exclaimed with a dramatic look of betrayal.

"I'm not laughing!" Donnie retorted, though his voice came out a tad too high pitched.

"Then what do you call that stupid grin on your face?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, I can't stop looking at it!" Donnie couldn't hide his glee if he wanted to—not that he wanted to—and he couldn't take his eyes off the picture, not even at April's angry growls. "It's amazing! Look at that smile. So uninhibited. So free..."

"Alright, give it back." April tried to snatch the card back, but Donnie wasn't done marvelling at it.

He pretended not to notice her, standing and stretching his arm so she couldn't reach it. "I'm gonna enlarge this and I'm gonna hang it where I can look at it every day," he said, already heading for his scanner.

April rushed after him. "Don't you dare, oh my God!" She pulled his arm, but Donnie kept moving, so that her stocking feet skidded on the floor. But she had learned a thing or two from Splinter's ninja training—Donnie liked to think he'd played a part as well—and suddenly his arms were twisted behind his shell. A pretty well-executed lock...

"Please, I really like it!" he yelped, half from pain, but half from laughter as well; card still gripped in his crooked fingers.

"Donatello, I swear to God!"

"Ah! Okay, okay!" He gave up in between giggles, calculating that her anger could soon turn real. When she let go of him, he reluctantly handed her the card back with a naughty chuckle and a soothing roll of his shoulders.

She yanked it away from him, retreating so he wouldn't take it again, and glared down at the card with a grimace. "I should just burn this."

"No!" he cried, arms out in a pleading gesture. "I really do like it!" Somehow he doubted she would believe that now, but it was true!

She recoiled with nervous laughter, and hurriedly put the card away, stuffing the wallet back in her backpack.

Donnie waved a hand feigning disappointment and returned to his seat. "Too bad, you know? I think they look great on you."

"You would. You nerd," she grumbled, plopping back down on her chair next to him.

He put on an offended face. "Hey, _you're_ the four-eyes. Who's the nerd here?"

She scoffed. "Well, if you like 'em so much, why don't _you_ wear them?" And then she took her glasses off again to shove them at him.

"Okay." He shrugged, happily accepting the challenge.

The glasses barely fit his head, and he had to gently push them on, careful not to break the hinges. Even then, since he lacked the nose necessary to hold them in place, they immediately began to slide down his snout. He pushed them up with one finger, then crossed his arms at April. "See? Hot."

"That is kind of adorable," April said, and her broad smile lit a bonfire in his belly.

Feeling brave, Donnie leaned forward and slid the glasses down just under his eyes, peering over them at April. He put on a grave, rattling voice. "Don't you mean… irresistible?"

Here's where Donnie expected April to scoff and roll her eyes, and that would be where the games ended. Actually, on a normal day they would've ended a lot sooner.

But April didn't scoff. She didn't roll her eyes. She looked at him through her lashes, and did a little shimmy with her shoulders.

"Clearly that's what I meant," she said, and her voice, too, was a bit deeper.

 _Wait, what?_ Donnie's inner voice exclaimed, stupefied, because that hadn't been sarcasm. At least… at least it didn't sound like sarcasm. April was actually playing along. She was… flirting. Wasn't she?

Donnie's brain short-circuited, and his thoughts screeched to a halt. He couldn't say or do anything other than stare. Even when he remembered to breathe again, he stared. April was still looking at him as well, not saying a word. And by Merlin's beard, she was _blushing_. He wasn't just seeing things. In her face there was a look he couldn't decipher, but she was biting her lip and her cheeks were flushed bright pink.

However, before he could collect himself, he noticed her brow starting to furrow. All of a sudden her eyes were downcast, her expression no longer cocky or flirty, but troubled. Just like that, the moment was lost.

He panicked a little, and immediately made to backpedal, starting with an emergency throat clearing.

"Wow, these are giving me a headache," he said quickly, taking the glasses off, and rubbed his eyes, if only to have something to do instead of continuing to sit stupidly still like a gargoyle.

April accepted her glasses back, and she put them on with a tiny smile. "Yeah, at least one of us should keep a clear head."

"That still bothering you?" he asked as casually as he was capable.

There was still a little wrinkle in her brow as she shrugged. "It's tolerable. Looks like the pain killers worked."

"Good!"

And then there was silence again. They both fidgeted awkwardly. April sighed loudly, and with a weird nod she turned back to her laptop, muttering something like "let's see" as though she'd found something truly promising in that article. Donnie started stacking papers and pointlessly aligning them to the table's edge. Meanwhile one question boomed deafeningly in his head: what did it mean?

Normally it was Donnie's job to be hopelessly awkward. But what was _that_? That had never happened before! April running out of words, being the first to look away? Could it be?

His analytical mind was tempted to continue flirting some more, as a sort of experiment, and see what she made of it. But he thought better, remembering her fleeting look of distress, which also made this all the more confusing.

And so he sat there, guts twisting nauseatingly as he looked blankly at the articles on his screen, wondering and throwing questions at the void until they were saved by the bell: April's phone chimed and she rushed to pick it up.

"Just my dad. He wants to know how my homework is going," she said, looking at her phone with a sigh. "I guess I better get to it. I'll have to double time if I want to have something to show for tonight."

"Yeah. It's gotten pretty late," Donnie agreed, struggling to find an adequate tone of voice.

"Girls' night took longer than expected." She laughed, seemingly shy, but at this point Donnie didn't know how to interpret her anymore.

 _Well, when have I ever?_

"Need some help?" he offered.

"Actually, I've gotten pretty good at these," she replied kindly, holding up her Algebra book. "Thanks to you."

Donnie's heart did a little optimistic hop at her smile. She wasn't angry at him, she didn't even seem annoyed. There was something going on in her mind, but it was different. All this was different, somehow. Even after she'd turned her face, chin tucked into her collar, he could still see her ear was a bright pink against the orange and purple of the braid.

There was movement in his peripheral vision: something on roach cam. April noticed it too, and they both turned to see Hachisu reach out from underneath her covers for the little wooden box. They saw her pick it up as if it were made of the finest porcelain, and hold it gingerly in her hands, the gravest expression on her face. Her pupils were dilated in the darkness of the common room, and coupled with the greenish tint of the night-vision, it made her face look all the more ghostly.

They watched expectantly, as for a minute it looked like she would open it, which would reveal whatever was inside.

But after a few seconds of hesitation, she stretched her arm again and left the box in the exact same spot, with the tiny clamp facing her pillow. And then she closed her eyes.

Donnie and April shrugged at each other before getting back to work.

* * *

After a while, the guys started dropping by to say goodnight. Leo was first to go to sleep, as usual, trying to get Mikey to do the same on the way. Splinter tried to do his part and recommended Donnie and April not to stay up too late. Lastly, Raph got back from his skate-date with Casey and they heard him tramp about, closing his door none too gently without saying goodnight.

"How's Hachisu doing?" April asked in a bored monotone not for the first time. She'd been done with her homework for awhile now, and had since moved to join Donnie on the cot, laptop over her crossed legs. The research for possessed objects was turning out to be quite a challenge, as most of what was posted online was sensationalist garbage, creepy pasta, or questionable testimonies. When there was nothing else to research, they'd taken out their respective sketchbooks. When real exhaustion started kicking in, they'd resorted to looking at animal memes in a desperate effort to keep their eyes open.

"She's still awake. I think she might have insomnia." Donnie moaned, glancing at the roach cam window on his tablet, where he saw Hachisu sigh and turn in her futon. "You know, maybe you should go to bed and I'll wake you when it's time."

"No way." Her protest was drowned in an epic yawn. But even though her eyes were watery with sleep, she stubbornly went back to typing away on her laptop. "Maybe I'll try researching some more, the memes aren't working."

The next time he looked, however, he found her fast asleep, head leaning back against the wall, her breathing deep. He gave a silent chuckle.

Putting his ninja skills to work, Donnie stealthily took the laptop from her and set it on the desk, then very slowly removed her glasses too.

And then… Well, he allowed himself a moment, and let his gaze be caught by April's gravity. His attention travelled across her speckled face, around the sturdy line of her jaw, down her pale arms to her petite hands. Her legs were even paler, and a little spindly. But months of hard training were visible on the definition of her muscles, the skin marred by a few bruises and old scars. April had always had the mind of a fighter, but now she was acquiring the body to match. And he was so proud of her.

He wistfully sighed, then carefully pulled the cot's blanket over her. It hurt how much he loved her. It _physically_ hurt.

For the longest time he had been preparing himself to let her go. Finally he was getting to a point where he was ready to accept that this was all there would be. Raph, and pretty much everybody else, had made it clear from the start: he had no chance with her. None.

But there was something new and intriguing about the way April looked at him now. These... _moments_. Something had changed, for sure. He just wasn't sure what. And he just couldn't bring himself to forget about it; to forget about _her_.

With a thoughtful glance back at the drawer containing April's unfinished armor, he wondered: maybe he had a chance. His hopes had been rekindled, even when a part of him knew he was probably setting himself up for more disappointment.

But his mind was made up.

He resolved to try. Not now, but soon, when the moment was right. He had no idea what he planned to do, or what he could ever say to her. But at least meanwhile he could test out his hypothesis.

The prospect made him slightly queasy.

April sighed in her sleep, and her mouth fell open. Donnie grinned to himself, reminded of her infamous high school card picture. He decided to make it his personal goal to see her smile like that again.

* * *

 **Ooh boy, we can't wait to show you next chapter!**

 **So what did you think of these two nerds? And would you dare a bite of that delicious Fried Ice Cream á la Mikey?**

 **Remember, reviews are writer chow! :D**


	22. Chapter 22

**Oh boy oh boy oh boy guys this one's important and exciting we think you'll like it...**

 **By the way I'm still celebrating that little PG13 Apritello animation currently going viral on the internets. I think I will be cellebrating for a while. Hng!**

 **As always, huge thanks to Queequegg and Theherocomplex for their beta reading!**

* * *

April awoke with a slight start, and for a brief moment thought she was at home, and dad was calling for her. She nearly jumped to her feet, ready to run to his aid. But a second later she looked up and met Donnie's calm gaze. His smooth head and shell were backlit by the dim bulb of the desk lamp, his hand gently rocking her shoulder.

"You fell asleep," Donnie said softly.

"Hngwhat…" she mumbled, still a little disoriented, then quickly ran her hand over the corner of her mouth to wipe off a line of drool. Thankfully Donnie didn't comment on her dribbling, for all the times she'd found _him_ coating his keyboard in slobber.

"Hachisu's K.O., finally." He showed her his tablet, in which she could see Hachisu's green-hued face, eyes rolling back and forth underneath her lids.

April tried to shake off that dream, the sound of her dad's calls through the corridor still resonating in her ears. It left her with an odd sense of culpability, her gut twisting with guilt, thinking of him, and how she wasn't home with him tonight. But what was worse was how much she'd been looking forward to spending one night away from that.

The thought made her feel slightly sick, so she immediately banished it, and rubbed her face. "What time is it?"

"Exactly four fifteen," Donnie replied right away without looking, and she ogled.

"Whoa, I've been asleep a while," she said, shifting towards the edge of the cot. They'd waited so long, and April had been so tired from school and general lack of sleep that she'd finally fallen prey to exhaustion, lulled by the soothing clickity-clackity of Donnie's keyboard. She realized she was covered in a blanket she didn't remember grabbing, and her glasses were sitting neatly folded on the desk next to her laptop and her T-phone.

"That's alright," Donnie said. "You looked so tired, I almost didn't wanna wake you up." He offered a hand to help her up, looking at her like one would look at a basket full of sleepy puppies. He was probably doing that just to tease her—or not. She narrowed her eyes at him before taking his hand.

"I would've been pissed in the morning if you hadn't woken me up, and you know it."

Donnie didn't seem intimidated, but smirked. "I know, that's why I woke you up."

"Good. For _you_ ," she said in a low grumble as she headed for her glasses, in her best impression of an action movie badass. But all she got out of him was another coy chuckle, and her body betrayed her once more by letting loose the butterflies. As if she hadn't blushed enough already that night. She was trying so hard not to indulge in this silly crush, not to let it show. Why wouldn't her body cooperate?

She shoved the feeling way down, deep enough that it wouldn't show through the surface, then put on her glasses, business face included.

Unfortunately, her headache was back; the effects of the pills must be wearing off. Just as well, she supposed. Over these past couple of years she'd learned that while painkillers took the pain away, they also numbed her senses. The headache wasn't so bad, and she would rather be a hundred percent right now. Catching sight of Donnie's mug, she noticed there was still a bit of coffee left, and she downed the cold, bitter liquid in one gulp. The horrible taste shocked her into full attention.

"Let's do this," she proclaimed.

Agreeing that it was pointless for both of them to go, and that Donnie _was_ the most experienced ninja, April once again resigned herself to the role of look-out and back-up. Her job would be to stay behind and keep a close watch on the scene, with the aid of the roach cam.

"Okay, everything's set." Donnie was already speaking under his breath, even in the safety of the lab. "We have to hurry. Hachisu's REM phase should last us another fifty to eighty minutes. The box has to be back by her mat before that."

On screen, the woman's face was a picture of serenity. Hachisu's mat was a bit isolated from the rest of the group, which should make it easier for Donnie to sneak up on her.

April nodded, eager to begin, and they both grabbed their night-vision goggles.

Just as they got to the garage door, Donnie paused. April turned to see him fidgeting with his goggles.

"Man, if Master Splinter hears about this. Or Leo," he said.

 _Not last-minute anxiety_ , April thought, groaning silently, fearing he'd back down from the mission. She was too determined—or maybe too uncomfortable, her head pulsing—to consider quitting now.

"Come on, Donnie, we spent hours preparing for this."

"I don't know, I'm- I'm getting second thoughts. Maybe we should wait a bit longer."

"If whatever Hachisu's hiding is dangerous, then it's better we expose it as soon as possible. We can't _wait out_ an onryo," she said, itching to move things along so she could take that painkiller as soon as possible. "For all we know, the future turtles were trying to tell us to look for this thing, and secure it. And if it's nothing, we'll just put it back before anyone knows."

After a few seconds of wincing and sighing, Donnie nodded. He turned, eyes blazing with conviction, and slipped under the garage door. With a sigh of relief, she followed him out to the tunnel and around towards the turnstiles. Entering through there would be much quieter than trying to move the noisy lab doors.

Even in the dead of night, the lair was never quiet. There was always the dull humming from the ventilation system, the occasional drip-drop of old pipes and the wind whistling through the abandoned tunnels. Any other night, the pinball machine's periodic jingle would beckon passersby to play, although now it was missing. Like the common room's ambient lights, it had been turned off in deference to their guest clan. In its place, a choir of snores emanated from the Lotus camp—the perfect cover.

And then there was that very faint ringing in April's ears.

"Stealth mode," Donnie mouthed by her, slipping on his night-vision goggles. April adjusted her own as best as she could on top of her glasses, filter-adapted tablet in hand. With one combined thumbs-up, he moved in.

It was pitch-black at the far end of the big cavernous room. Donnie moved in shadows, keeping close to the wall. Even with her headache, she had to appreciate the noiselessness and agility with which Donnie slid his way across the cement floor, as silently as if he'd been walking on cotton. One day, she promised herself. Meanwhile she went to kneel behind the turnstiles and her joints gave a loud snap that even made Donnie turn. She shook her head, and gestured at her knees, and his gap-toothed grin shone against the blackness like a cheshire cat.

As she scanned the camp, April's head gave a powerful throb and she winced. She had to will herself not to close up, even if it hurt more.

One look at the roach cam saw Donnie arriving by the Lotus leader's mat, a colossus from this angle. She watched, heart in her mouth, as his shadow moved closer to Hachisu's still form, arm reaching for the little box lying beside her.

But something wasn't right. Something nagged at her among the already loud sensations, like someone blowing on her neck in a windstorm. She looked up.

Among the piles of lying bodies in sleeping bags, her gaze locked onto one of them. One sleeping bag was empty.

"Donnie," she breathed urgently into the com. He stopped dead in his tracks, inches from Hachisu, and looked down at the camera, at her. "Donnie, there's one empty sleeping bag. Where's the owner?"

She saw him slowly crane his neck, spotting the vacant mat, still as a mouse. April peeked over the turnstiles and counted the Lotus. There were 14 of them. How did they not notice? Why didn't they check this before?

Reprimanding herself, she searched the room from her safe position.

Then she heard it: a flushing toilet. Of freakin' course.

She didn't need to say anything. Donnie immediately retreated back into the shadows, between the weapons rack and the canal. But he wasn't invisible, not if whoever was in the bathroom turned on a light.

He was trapped.

It was up to her. She had to intercept the fifteenth Lotus.

Her own bare legs and sock-covered feet gave her an idea. She dropped the goggles and the tablet, and started ruffling her hair. Then she slid under the turnstiles, and snuck across the common room over to the bathroom door, just in time for it to open.

Against the light of the bathroom was the silhouette of a man. He let out a small exclamation in seeing her there, arms up in a defensive position.

"Oh! I am sorry!" It was the old man called Jiro, dressed in a comfy yukata. Dropping his arms, the man stepped aside, letting her in the bathroom.

April prayed Hachisu hadn't heard that.

"Miss?" Jiro said tentatively when she didn't move.

 _Here goes._ April put on the blankest expression she could muster, face lax and shoulders sagging. Through her half closed lids she saw the old man looking at her askance. He reached out without touching her.

"Miss. You okay?"

April replied by directing an incoherent mumble over Jiro's left shoulder, as though speaking to someone that was standing behind him. When he turned to look, she took the opportunity to do a quick scan of the common room behind her for a sign of Donnie. The light from the bathroom leaked out into the living room, and she managed to catch a glimpse of his shape against the background, the light reflected as pinpoints in his eyes. She turned back to Jiro in time to see him squint into the darkness, following her gaze.

At once she intensified her mumbling. Careful not to wake more Lotus ninjas, she practically stormed past the old man and mumbled angrily at the door frame under the perplexed look of poor Jiro. Then, without warning, she gave a dreamy sigh and let her gaze fall slowly to the floor. And she went quiet.

Jiro's amused chuckle was a good sign that he had caught on. "Miss, you are asleep," the old man said softly in his heavy accent, reminding her of Murakami-san. "I will take you to your bedroom, okay?"

With extreme care, he turned her around by the shoulders, guiding her away from the evil doorframe towards the bedrooms. April resisted, abruptly pulling to the side every few steps as if she wanted to escape Jiro's grasp, only to make sure he'd pay attention to her and not the Lotus camp where Donnie was still hiding. It worked; they made it through the common-room and up the stairs without incidents.

"That's my girl," said a low voice in her ear, almost making her jump: Donnie.

April allowed herself a smile—it would kind of play into the whole sleepwalker charade anyway. Then she actually processed what he'd just said to her, and marvelled. She half-expected Donnie to take his words back any second now, perhaps stutter a needless apology. But… he didn't! He had actually sounded pretty confident there.

"Which is your room?" Jiro whispered, snapping April back to the present, and she had to right herself not to blow her cover. She headed straight for Donnie's empty room as sole response. Jiro followed her closely, turning on a lamp. Hoping he wouldn't think anything of the freshly-made state of the bed, she quickly jumped in and threw on the clean covers. He must have been satisfied, because a moment later he chuckled again, and closed the door.

Now all she could do was wait. She listened intently, hearing Jiro's steps fading, and then silence. Good. Silence was good. Then, after a few minutes of barely breathing, came Donnie's "all-clear" over the comm.

Full of exuberant relief and feeling quite happy with herself, she blithely ninja'd herself back to the lab, checking on the way that everybody was in their sleeping bags.

She found Donnie waiting for her by the desk when she slipped under the garage door.

"And the Oscar goes to: April O'Neil!" Donnie beamed, holding up the small box.

April chuckled, relishing the proud look on Donnie's eyes. "How's that for misdirection and camouflage?"

But that's when her head started throbbing, more painfully than before, and she shot the box a dubious look. It looked so minuscule in Donnie's large green palm, so innocuous. Yet April knew that had to be the haunted object because of the way it was… pulsating, though she knew Donnie couldn't feel it. She felt both drawn to it and repelled.

"I gotta say, that didn't go half as badly as I feared. Quick thinking there," Donnie said happily.

"Yeah," April agreed absent-mindedly, feeling a pang behind her eyes.

Donnie gingerly laid the object under the spotlight. "Let's see now." With a few clicks on his keyboard, the camera's red light started blinking and some other gizmos started whirring. April watched him lean in and snap a few closeups with his phone.

As he worked, April found herself shifting closer and closer to the mysterious thing.

There was something in there. And it was _furious_.

"Are you alright?"

April looked down at Donnie, who was on his knees, level with the box.

"You don't look too good," he insisted, his brow getting wrinklier by the second.

She pressed her hand against her clammy temple, but succeeded in giving him a reassuring smile. "It's nothing."

But Donnie stood up and regarded her worriedly. "Seriously, you're white as a sheet. Maybe you should sit this one out."

His grimace of concern only annoyed her more. And besides, she'd already put up with enough "ninjas-only" operations, which meant she would often have to sit on the sidelines, "keeping watch" as the guys did all the important work. Well, she'd kept enough watch for today. She was not going to miss out this time.

"I'm fine, my head is just… buzzing. I just want to get this over with quick and put the box back."

Donnie didn't seem all convinced, but closed his mouth.

"Let's open it already, we don't have much time." She tried hard not to grit her teeth.

Donnie shook his head. "We're not breaking that thing out until I run some safety tests," he said, and grabbed his tracker from the desk. April watched as he hovered it over the box with tortuous care, to the sound of its familiar beeping. She tapped her foot and closed her eyes in an attempt to ease her fired up nerves.

"Fascinating," she heard Donnie say in a low admiring voice. "I'm picking up some pretty odd readings, but they're very muted. That box must be acting as a sort of containment unit. That's probably why you couldn't sense it, aside from the headaches. At least there doesn't seem to be anything hazardous so far..."

She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. All she knew was this was taking forever, and she couldn't endure much more of it.

"Wow. I don't even know these kanji. They must be ancient. I bet they're protective spells of some kind..."

"Donnie, we don't have time for this!" she interrupted him, almost in a reflex. "We have to open it." It took all her remaining self control not to groan and claw at her temples, while a small voice chirped a warning in her ear: _if it's this bad now, when the box is closed,_ maybe _we shouldn't open it at all..._

But the voice was tiny, easily drowned out in all the noise going on in her head, which might as well have been inside a cement mixer. She needed this to be _over_.

Through the haze, she saw Donnie looking thoughtful for a second. "You're right, Hachisu could wake up any moment, and then we'll never know what's inside." He set something down on the desk next to the box: the tracker. "Now, if we're going to open it, we need to take it very slow. Let's do it in stages. One of us will keep a hold of the box at all times and shut it at the first sign of trouble. Hold on, lemme just..."

But she was hardly listening at that point.

The moment Donnie stepped away, April squinted and approached the box curiously. She could swear she heard something coming from within.

"Where did I put that EM gun?" Donnie's voice echoed from far, far away, and she tried to ignore it.

Inching closer, April listened intently at what sounded like a woman's voice. She was speaking to her, calling her. She was trapped. Trapped inside the box. April couldn't bare the pain and urgency in the voice.

All she could hear was her anguish.

All she wanted was for it to stop.

The tiny voice of reason yelled madly at her from the deepest corner of her mind, but it was nothing compared to the things she was hearing all around, the cries of despair, that claustrophobic crackling. There was only one thing she could think about, only one thing to do.

Unable to stop herself, she shot her arm at the box and flicked the lid open.

Something knocked April backwards, or maybe it was her own feet, trying to get her away. Away from the thing that was shrieking so loudly in her ears. Pain. In an instant, she forgot where or who she was, blinded and deafened to everything but the images being stabbed into her mind, visions of fire, and crying, and agony.

* * *

Donnie's ears rang as he came back to himself. He tried to focus past the shrill noise to figure out what had happened. How did he end up on the floor? He looked around him, at the strange stillness that was somehow filled with a roaring noise, like a train passing by. He saw flashes, and it took him a moment to realize it wasn't him; the lab lights were flickering, all his instruments turning on and off, a cacophony of buzzing and whirring. The medical monitors buzzed with static. His tracker beeped madly at the desk's edge, and then it fell. In the disorienting chaos, he remembered April.

He looked around. There was someone there. Not April. The sickly green light from the algae pools outlined a pale woman in a white shirt, black hair falling over her face. She stood a few feet in front of him, and even though he couldn't see her eyes behind the veil of hair, he could tell she was staring at him—studying him. At her feet, there was a small bright-red object. Donnie knew immediately what it was.

The woman started moving, passing over the chinese pendant. Donnie followed her line of sight, and saw April's crouching figure writhing on the floor.

"April!" Donnie cried, barely able to hear his own voice over the ongoing grumbling. He scrambled to his knees, feeling impossibly heavy, like several atmospheres pressing down on him. This wasn't normal darkness: it was thick and heavy, charged with an aguish that bore down on him like a lead cloud.

The ghost moved towards April with what might have been curiosity, her arm stretching towards her. Donnie searched his surroundings feverishly, and miraculously spotted the EM gun on a shelf, all the way on the other side of the lab.

Before he could make a run for it, a scream made him swivel on the spot. April was on the floor, hands covering her face, the ghost barely a step from her.

Donnie bolted. "Get away from her!"

The air clung to him like tar, as he desperately pushed forward, driven by April's penetrating screams. Finally he reached her, and he threw himself between her and the spirit in defiance.

The ghost stopped in its tracks and from her glare he knew he was in trouble.

"April, get up!" he yelled over his shoulder. "April!"

But April didn't even seem to hear him. Instead, Donnie felt a burning cold touch on his chest and he fell backwards, tripping over April's legs. His shell hit the wall, the back of his head bouncing against the hard brick. Feeling as though he'd been smashed right through ice into freezing water, he tried to get up, but realized he couldn't move. He threw his head back to see a cadaverous face contorted in rage, inches above him. The woman's long black hair grazed his cheeks. She had him pinned down with insurmountable force.

Donnie gasped. He could feel the woman's hand at his plastron, so frigid it burned through to the flesh underneath. The feeling burrowed deeper, like an icicle through his chest. He felt it tightening around his heart, squeezing. It hurt like nothing he'd ever experienced, and yet he couldn't scream.

He felt lightheaded, and opened his mouth to breathe, but no air came. The hand—was it really her hand inside his chest?—clasped tighter, and his heart hiccoughed, struggling. It was now very clear to Donnie: she wanted him dead.

He was fading. With a sliver of consciousness, he forced his eyes open and looked at his killer, in his gaze a silent plea. The woman's dead eyes bore into his.

But then... her deathly glare flickered, and in it he saw a spark—life, emotion.

The grip loosened, enough that his heart jerked back into gear. He winced at the sensation, and heaved in a lungful. At last the air entered him like a bolt of lightning through his body. Still, it felt like sublime relief.

He noticed the noise around him had subsided somewhat, and with an ounce of curiosity—mixed in with all the paralyzing terror—he looked up again.

The woman's expression had changed, her terrible features softened. She now returned a look of surprise—of bewilderment. And then she spoke in the smallest voice.

"Yoshi."

Donnie didn't have time to react. There was a piercing, booming scream and a blinding explosion of light, and the ghost tumbled backwards off of Donnie. Finally the crushing weight lifted and he could move. Squeezing his eyes closed and covering his aching ears, he pushed his shell back against the wall in an effort to sit up.

It had only lasted three seconds. When the sound receded and the lab was dark once again—a couple of lights flickering dimly above—he opened his eyes.

In the middle of the room, the woman squirmed, hunched over and whimpering. She looked dim and translucent.

Panting, he tried sitting up, and saw April at his side. She was pressing her hands to her temples, recovering from her psychic blast, her teeth bared at the spirit. With a grunt, she turned towards him.

"Donnie! Are you okay?" she cried, her face scrunched and sweaty.

Donnie paused, listening to his own reassuring heartbeat before replying. April's eyes and hands went to his chest, fumbling over his own hand there, as if she wanted to check for injuries. But everything looked perfectly fine there, even though it felt like there should be a big hole.

"I'm good, I'm good," he said weakly, even though he was hardly confident of this, and his heart banged fiercely against his ribs like it wanted out. He could still feel the burning cold of the ghost's touch in every breath he took, and he rubbed his plastron trying to fend off the sensation, to no avail. At least he was alive. "That was just… uh, really unpleasant." Not exactly a lie. But perhaps he should leave out the horrifying details for now. With enormous effort, he managed a tremulous smile. "Are you okay?"

She nodded quietly, eyes like saucers. Then they both turned.

The ghost was silent, rocking pitifully on the spot. Her contours were faded against the background, her figure shimmering dimly by the small red stone lying on the floor. To one side, the tracker was still going full blaze.

A noise at the entrance drew Donnie's attention away from the scene. The door shook violently once. Twice. Someone was outside, and they really wanted in. They would have to wait.

Ignoring the loud bangs, he stared, dumbstruck, at the quivering shadow of a woman. She was a far cry from that smiling girl in the pictures, but… Could it be? Had he heard it right?

"I saw her death," April gulped beside him. "This woman was murdered by Shredder himself."

"More than that," Donnie mustered. "She said 'Yoshi'. I think this is the ghost of Tang Shen."

April was mute as Donnie started heaving himself up. He was hit by a wave of nausea and fell on his knees. She was on him in an instant, grabbing his arm to help him to his feet. The doors shook as the people outside tried to force it open. Now there were voices as well. The blade of a sword slipped through the crack, and prodded at the safety bar. They didn't have much time.

He didn't know what he planned to do, really. But he had to make sure. If this was Tang Shen, he needed to talk to her.

Doing his best to ignore the voices at the door for a little longer, he took one shaky step towards the crouched figure.

"Tang Shen?" he said softly. The woman lifted her face and looked at him in distrust through tangles of black hair. All the while, she kept watching April with glossy eyes full of fear. She seemed so human suddenly...

He used a gentle voice, hands out in a gesture of peace, as though talking down a scared animal. "Tang Shen?"

She didn't reply, but Donnie was sure. It was her. When she started standing up slowly, he could see three deep, parallel gashes on her torso.

Shredder.

Donnie held out a hand behind him, instructing April not to move.

"You can talk to me," he said to the ghost, and then switching to Japanese he asked her, "Why are you here? Do you remember Hamato Yoshi?"

She perked up at the name, looking like she wanted to speak.

But then the lab doors cracked, safety bar defeated, and slid open with a screech. An entire battalion stood at the entrance now, all armed and ready for battle. At the front, Hachisu-no-Hana stood with a look of panic at the scene, then at Donnie and April.

For a few brief moments, nobody moved. The Lotuses stood looking between them and the ghost, waiting for orders. Tang Shen didn't even take her eyes off of Donnie, standing languidly still. Then Hachisu lunged forward, and before Donnie knew what she intended, the red pendant was in her grasp.

"No! Wait!" Donnie cried.

But Hachisu stuffed the pendant in its box, snapped it shut, and then Tang Shen was gone.

The fog dissipated instantly. The lights came on and the dull humming that he'd no longer realized was there suddenly died, leaving behind a grating silence where he could hear each and every ragged breath.

The Lotus leader glowered at Donnie, fire blazing in her eyes.

* * *

 **WHOPS!**

 **What do you know...**

 **Okay, who among you already suspected about that ghost? Be honest!**

 **And what did you think? Remember reviews are writer chow! :D**


	23. Chapter 23

**Edit: Sorry for the reupload, but someone told me the email notifications might not have worked well last time, since they didn't get one. And naybe that's why it got so little attention XD**

* * *

 **Who's up for some drama?**

 **So occasionally we get a comment saying how they don't quite remember what was going on in the fic. We don't blame you, I mean, this is a monster of a fic, and there's a ton of wonderful things and plots intertwining. That's why we're going to start doing this thing where we recap previous events relevant to the current chapter.**

 **As always, huge thanks to our wonderful betas, Theherocomplex and Queequegg 3**

* * *

 **Previously...**

Karai had been restless ever since the Lotus mentioned their revenge on Shredder. The guys were even more worried because the future turtles implied something was going on with her.

Meanwhile, Leo had ordered Donnie and April not to bother Hachisu-no-Hana anymore about that supposed ghost, so the pair decided to keep investigating without him. That ghost turned out to be the vengeful spirit of Tang Shen, and way more than they could chew.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 23**

Leo sat bolt upright on his futon as the last echoes of a distant racket faded. A final clang of something heavy falling resonated through the lair, and then... nothing. He waited with bated breath.

This kind of noise wasn't atypical in the lair. Things blew up all the time, literally and figuratively: a miscalculation in one of Donnie's experiments, or a rabid Raph charging after Mikey until something got in their way—like the TV set. Leo heard it every other week. What worried him was the silence that came after. No curses, no yelling or stomping about. Only Mikey's muffled snores.

A persistent banging, followed by voices, finally got him on his feet. He shot an uncertain glance at his weapons rack, still unsure of whether this was an emergency or not, as he hurried to his door. When he opened it, he met Raph's questioning eyes, peeking out from his own door across the hall. Out in the common room, someone had turned on the lights.

The Lotus clan was stirring. Leo's belly prickled with uncertainty. As the commotion persisted, and just as he was going for his swords, he heard it.

"No! Wait!"

Adrenaline rushed through him at the sound of Donnie's distress. He yanked his swords from their rack and burst into a sprint, Raph at his heels.

"Guys, wake up!" he yelled at the other doors, heart pounding and muscles tingling. He dashed through the common-room, between empty sleeping bags, a dozen horrible scenarios forming in his mind in the three seconds it took him to reach the lab. "Donnie!" He shoved through the crowd of ninjas, ready for a fight, and skid to a halt at the head of the crowd, almost tripping over a toppled toolbox.

The first thing he saw was Donnie and April, and a cool wave of relief washed over him. They were alright.

Then he had a better look, and faltered.

Puffing, whole body still in red alert, Leo paused to take in the scene. His strategic mind raced to make sense of all the loose bits of information: the lab was a disaster area—gadgets strewn about the floor, devices buzzing with static, a couple of fluorescent lamps flickering overhead—but there was no visible threat in sight. Holding each other in the middle of the lab, panting and sweaty, Donnie and April gawked at all the new arrivals. They looked extremely red-handed.

The first conclusion hit Leo like a wet slap to the face: it finally happened— _they_ finally happened. And lured by the misleading noise, he and Raph and the rest of the Lotus had gotten front row seats to the premiere.

"What the hell?" Raph muttered, and judging by the bewildered, slightly uncomfortable look on his face, the same thought had crossed his mind.

But by the time Raph had said that, Leo already knew otherwise. Nah, that couldn't be it. The pieces didn't fit. Donnie and April looked more shaken than embarrassed. He was shivering and she, appearing paler than usual, had her arm draped protectively over him. Something had happened here, but it hadn't been anything pleasant.

And there, by a fallen chair, stood Hachisu, barefoot, dressed in her comfy black pants, tousled hair falling down her shoulders, as though she'd been dragged right out of bed.

She seemed absolutely _furious_ : pose stiff, the muscles in her jaw twitching, black eyes frenzied and blazing like hot embers. She appeared to be downright trying to murder Donnie and April with her gaze. Leo couldn't even be sure she'd noticed anyone besides the pair in front of her.

Already nervous, he spotted the tanto in her hand. Her other fist was clenched around something he couldn't quite see, as she held it protectively behind her back.

Behind him, all the Lotuses seemed just as flabbergasted as Leo felt. Mikey and Karai arrived a moment later, fully armed, craning their necks and wearing expressions of cautious intrigue. In the confused silence, Leo's eyes bounced from Hachisu to the pair standing in the middle of the room. His strategic mind was stumped. He couldn't understand why it looked as though Donnie and April had just been in a fight with Hachisu-no-Hana.

"What happened?" he squawked at the wreck around them, blood still rushing in his ears from unspent adrenaline.

Donnie and April were quiet, their gazes flicking frantically about. Hachisu answered instead, and her usually stoic voice quivered with rage.

"Two of your men stole from me."

Leo's jaw dropped. " _What_?"

He searched Donnie, trying to lock eyes with him, because he couldn't have heard that right. It had to be a misunderstanding. But his brother's pregnant silence was pretty much all the confirmation he needed.

Hachisu lifted her hand, showing what looked like a simple wooden box. "They took this while I slept," she spat, and Leo was shocked to hear the bitterest bile in her voice.

His throat worked, not knowing what to say. After he warned them—after he _ordered_ them not to interfere with the Lotus... This whole charade of April staying over to study, it was all to go behind his back, and he had fallen for it like an _idiot_. He should've known they would try something—

"You hypocrite!"

Leo's thoughts were cut short, as every head in the room turned to April. She took a wobbly step away from Donnie to confront the Lotus leader, lips pulled back in a defying snarl. Hachisu gave her a seething glare.

April, however, did not back down. Donnie reached out to her, but she shrugged his hand off and raised an accusing finger at Hachisu, her voice high and tremulous. "You have some nerve accusing us after what _you_ did! How could you bring something like that here?"

Leo was going to ask what the hell she meant, though he could already make a pretty good guess, when Hachisu stepped forward, getting dangerously close to April.

"Shut your mouth you insolent girl, or I will have to teach you manners!" She lifted a fist, threatening to strike, and Leo's body jerked at Hachisu's blatant lack of restraint.

Donnie sprung forth, coming between the two. "Hey!"

Scared that this could lead to more fighting—hell, or a feud—Leo jumped in, raising his hands in an appeal for peace. "Hachisu-no-Hana-san, please!"

But Hachisu turned her eyes on him, and he felt as though he'd run nose-first into a concrete wall. "Leonardo-san, I came to you looking for help. But instead you and your men robbed me and _embarrassed_ me in front of my clan." Her voice, acrid with disappointment, bored into his chest like poisoned daggers. "It seems my expectations of the Hamato clan were too high."

Leo fumbled, not knowing what to do or say, paralyzed by the sting of shame. It was a feeling he wasn't used to.

He almost missed April's low growl. "You embarrass yourself."

Very slowly, Hachisu turned.

"April!" Leo scolded on desperate reflex, but his voice lacked the strength. He tensed, because Hachisu's stance suggested she was ready to strangle April at any moment.

"What is going on?" Sensei's voice boomed. Leo wheeled around to see a line of ninjas part to make way for the tall figure.

The room was engulfed in a sudden stand-still, tense like a drawn bow, as Master Splinter stood there for a moment. His keen rat eyes soared around the lab, passing by Donnie and April and Hachisu, the tips of his ears dangling angrily from the movement.

Finally, his gaze landed on Leonardo like a slab of stone. "Leonardo?"

Leo _almost_ cried "it wasn't my fault". If anything, he was the only sensible one there! But he swallowed his words, though they stung going down.

"I'm sorry, sensei," he stammered, at a loss. "There must have been some sort of misunderstanding." He gave Donnie an interrogating look, hoping it were true. But Donnie only pressed his lips together.

"There was no misunderstanding," Hachisu cut in, pulling her mane back into a neat ponytail, then straightening like a general. At least she wasn't pouncing at April like a panther. "Your men stole this from me while I slept. I caught them in here with it." Her voice was nearly back to normal, and she raised the box for all to see.

Splinter's harsh scrutiny lifted from Leo to fall on Donnie and April. Leo's shoulders felt a bit lighter.

"Donatello, explain."

Donnie's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and he issued a helpless look at Leo. But Leo wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic at that moment.

"You must think yourselves very clever for 'exposing' me," Hachisu said venomously. "But clearly you do not know what this is. There is a reason I hide it. It must not be opened!"

"Yeah, no kidding!" April retorted. "That thing almost _killed_ Donnie!"

Leo squinted at her words, trying to determine how much of an exaggeration that was. But he knew April well enough that her decisiveness and outrage alarmed him, compelling him to take a closer look at Donnie. His brother would still not say anything, but now Leo couldn't help notice how he was barely holding himself upright, the glint of sweat lingering on his forehead. Worried that he might be hurt bad, Leo appraised him for signs of blood or concussions, but aside from looking dead-on-his-feet, he seemed completely unharmed. There was no time for questions before Hachisu once again broke the stunned silence.

"Killed?" she echoed condescendingly, looking at April like she was crazy. But there was uncertainty in her voice. "Clearly an exaggeration. She has never hurt my men." She cast an ashamed, apologetic glance at Jiro. The old man was visibly clueless about the whole thing, as were the rest of the Lotuses.

April seemed ready to retort, but Splinter stopped her with one hand gesture to ask Hachisu himself. "In that case, may I see it?" He took a step forward, reaching out.

"No!" Both April and Donnie yelled in unison, making Leo jump. By the way in which Hachisu recoiled, they weren't the only ones who didn't want Splinter to touch that box.

"Sensei, don't! Seriously, you don't want to do that," Donnie said hurriedly, lifting a hand as though asking for a turn to speak, his mutism apparently cured. "April is telling the truth: that spirit is extremely dangerous. If-if it wasn't for the fact that I'm a young and fit turtle, in optimal cardiovascular health, I would undoubtedly be dead from heart failure." He rambled a little breathlessly, like he always did when he was nervous. He pressed his hand to his chest, wincing, and the gesture made Leo wonder if it was something else. He still couldn't see any signs of physical damage, but then what kind of damage could a ghost do to someone? "I'm pretty sure I'm alive only thanks to April." Donnie sounded sincere as he laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. April's brow knitted together and her gaze fell, looking the opposite of proud. "So… _definitely_ don't open it," Donnie concluded quickly, a tinge of desperation in his warning.

This time, it was Hachisu's turn in the spotlight. All eyes were on her, waiting for a come-back of some kind. And Hachisu… didn't move, and only stared at Donnie through a deep frown.

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san. I believe an explanation is in order," Splinter prompted her calmly, though it sounded less like a request and more like a warning.

Hachisu shrivelled under his piercing gaze. The hand holding the box twitched, but she remained quiet, and Leo felt more and more of his respect towards the Lotus leader drain away the longer he looked at her. She didn't seem so admirable anymore, no longer filled the room with her presence. She looked small and withered, with that lost look on her face, her mouth slightly parted.

And yet Leo couldn't help clinging to the hope that there was an explanation for all this, that Hachisu didn't just consciously betray them all. Back in possession of his resolve, he didn't even look for Splinter's confirmation. He addressed her loud and clear, and made no efforts to hide his disappointment. "Hachisu-no-Hana-san. What is in that box?"

The Lotus leader's eyes flickered towards him, her face frozen in a blank expression. When she still didn't respond, he advanced, planting himself in front of her.

"We trusted you with our home. I think we deserve the truth. What is in that box, and why did you bring it here?" In his periphery, Donnie and April shifted nervously.

At last, Hachisu seemed to regain her composure, and she answered in her usual level voice. "A lost soul. I have a duty with her."

"What did it do to my brother? Why did it attack him?" Leo relented, now weary of Hachisu's secrecy.

"I don't know. We are close. She grows restless."

"Close to what?"

A beat. Hachisu's jaw clenched. "I am sorry. That is not for you to know."

Leo shook his head in disbelief. He was this close to throwing all manners out the window and calling her on her bullshit in front of their clans. He barely managed to catch himself, and took a deep breath.

"You hid an _onryō_ from us. Why didn't you say anything?"

The irony of the situation dawned on him then as he realized, with a pang of shame, that this was exactly what Donnie and April had warned him about.

Hachisu only lowered her eyes to the floor, avoiding his. Her mask was back on.

"You put all our lives in danger! My family's lives!"

Hachisu snarled. "It was safe until you decided to interfere."

"Hachisu-no-Hana-san," Splinter cut in, silencing both of them. "I hope you understand we cannot tolerate a thing like this in our home. That box must go. Immediately. I cannot have it endanger my family."

There was hardly a moment's pause before Hachisu tilted her head courteously. "Do not worry, Hamato-sensei. My clan and I will leave before sunrise," she said, and Leo was deeply let down to still hear pride in her voice.

Before he could protest, she turned to leave, her soft footsteps barely breaking the silence. Leo stared after her, sick with disillusion, even after she and her clan were gone from the room.

"Uh…" he heard Mikey mutter. Leo had almost forgotten he was there, just like he'd forgotten Karai and Raph. The three of them stood to one side looking hesitant, as though they weren't sure they should be there.

After all that, Leo expected Donnie and April to get the scolding of their lives. But sensei only frowned, his eyes closed, like he was deep in thought. Splinter pinched between his eyes and emitted a barely audible groan, leaving Leo to wonder if his head hurt.

"Donatello, are you injured?" he said, looking up with a slight wince.

"N-no. No, I'm alright, sensei," Donnie replied, not entirely convincing, though he did look a bit healthier.

"Then I expect you in the dojo in fifteen minutes for training."

Donnie's tired expression suddenly stiffened, and he threw his arms out. "What? But—"

"Dojo. Fifteen minutes," Splinter repeated. "Leonardo, you will join us."

Leo blinked slowly at the floor; he hadn't expected any different.

"Raphael, Michelangelo, Karai. To bed. _Now_."

The emphasis was so strong that nobody questioned it. Even Karai obeyed at once, and all three made to leave looking very confused and very concerned. They might go to bed, but Leo knew they wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

Maybe Mikey...

"Sensei, it was my fault, not Donnie's," April _protested_ as they left in procession.

"That's not true—" Donnie started, but was quickly cut off.

"It was _my_ idea to go after that thing. And _I_ was the one to open the box," April insisted. It was almost as though not being punished bothered her. She closed her mouth at Splinter's look.

"Do not worry, April. I have not forgotten about you."

She relaxed visibly after that. Leo could swear he saw a fleeting shadow of a fatherly smile flash across Splinter's harsh features.

"I expect you in the dojo tomorrow, after school. Now _sleep_."

She sighed. "Hai, sensei."

And then Splinter blithely turned away and walked out, leaving behind a dreary stillness. Leo's mind took the perfect opportunity to play back a cringe-worthy montage of the day's events.

He thought his morning had started out bad—that stupid eyeliner had lasted to evening, like Karai had promised—but now the Lotus was leaving, their bond with the Hamato clan all but shattered, because of his stubborn brother. He knew in the back of his mind it was also Hachisu's fault, but right now he could only think about how Donnie had disregarded him. He felt like a fool, his chest tight from all the shame and anger brewing inside. Not to mention, he was just _dying_ for what promised to be a two-hour warm-up to their normal morning routine.

"Great. Fantastic," he groused at the empty entrance. The sounds of tapping and clicking reminded him Donnie and April were there, and he turned around. "What were you guys _thinking_?"

Donnie lifted his eyes from his T-phone, and he and April both countered with an indignant look. Of course.

"Are you really going to give us crap? After we almost bought it?" Donnie exclaimed, apparently feeling much better.

"That's _exactly_ why I'm going to 'give you crap'!" Leo retorted, disbelieving. "You went behind my back, after I asked you not to mess with the Lotus, and you almost got yourselves killed in the process!"

"What?" April yelped. "We tried to get you in! You're the one who wouldn't listen to us! We couldn't just sit around, there was an _onryō_ in the lair!"

"You had no proof of that!"

"We had solid clues!" Donnie said loftily. "And it turns out we were right!"

"That's not the point! I gave you an order, and you—" The words caught in his throat, thorny and unfamiliar, but Leo forced them through. They came out raspy and sharp. "—you wiped your ass with it!" Donnie seemed taken aback, but at least he had his attention. "I'm your leader. That means, as your leader, I take responsibility for all of you jerks!"

Donnie's lip curled. "I'm nobody's responsibility! I'm my own responsibility! What, I can't make conscious decisions? Look, we screwed up, but—"

"Yes you did, and guess what, now it's all on _me_!" Leo cried, unable to help himself.

"Is that all that matters to you?" Donnie said accusingly. "Is looking good in front of Hachisu more important than us?"

Leo stepped up to him, and faced him dead on, which was difficult given he got taller every time he looked at him. "Don't you dare suggest such a thing, Donnie." He shoved his finger at Donnie's plastron. " _Ever_."

April swept his hand away. "I already said it was my fault earlier, what more do you want?"

"April, that was the ghost. It was not your fault," Donnie insisted. As usual, he saved all his charm for April. April, as usual, rejected it.

"Yes, it was! What good are my powers if I can be influenced so easily."

"You still don't get it!" Leo cut in before they could deviate further from the subject. Whatever was going on with April would have to be logged away for later. They needed to understand. "Whoever's fault it was, I have to be held accountable for whatever happens. If something had happened to you, Donnie, I… I would never forgive myself."

Donnie huffed, doing a little eye-roll, and Leo waited for his retort. However it never came. April shook her head, biting her lips, then cast her eyes downwards.

"If I'm going to lead this team, I need your trust. I need you to respect my decisions."

Donnie shrugged at him. "Being leader doesn't make you infallible," he said matter-of-factly. "You're not always going to be right."

Leo stood his ground, gritting his teeth. "This might come as a slight shock, Donatello, but neither are _you_."

The words had tumbled out of him like a landslide, impossible to stop. Donnie looked floored for about one second, then his face tightened. Leo held his glare in silence, though his chest constricted. He could see April in his periphery, standing very still.

Without warning, Donnie shoved something at Leo, and he almost reacted defensively, thinking he would hit him. It was just a T-Phone.

Leo asked curtly, "What's this?"

"That's your proof," Donnie replied drily, arms crossed, as Leo took in the contents of the picture. It was grainy as hell, like it had been magnified, but he could kind of make out a red stone with swirly shapes carved into it.

He let out a quiet gasp. "Is… is this what I think it is?"

"The Chinese red pendant the future turtles warned us about," April confirmed.

"Red Agatha, probably from the Qing period. And that's not all." Donnie uncrossed his arms and his voice turned into a murmur. "Leo, it was Tang Shen."

Leo perked up, convinced he had to have heard that wrong. "What?"

Donnie repeated solemnly, "It was Tang Shen. Splinter's dead wife came out of that little pendant, and attacked us." He put a hand on his chest again, giving himself a little rub.

Leo looked at his brother, then at the photo of the red pendant, and at April, who was standing by waiting with the same ominous expression. "Tang Sh…" He threw a glance over his shoulder to the exit. It was still ajar. He hurried over to check for eavesdroppers, and quickly slid it shut. "Wh… Is this true? How do you know this?" he demanded, leaning closer to speak in a low voice.

"I saw her death," April said first, her voice quivering, and her pale eyes became clouded. "I saw Shredder murdering her."

"And I saw her," Donnie chimed in, grabbing something from the floor: his tablet. He wiped off some dirt and tapped it a few times. "She said 'Yoshi'. There were three long gashes on her torso." He turned the screen towards Leo, and his stomach lurched.

It was a photo taken from above, by that camera hanging in the corner over their heads. It showed a blurry figure in white pinning Donnie down against the wall. April was on the floor near them, writhing, hands on her head.

"That _was_ Tang Shen." Donnie's words were leaden with certainty. He reached for the T-Phone still in Leo's hands, and slid to the side several times. Skimming through different views of the same pendant, he stopped when the wooden box appeared. Though Hachisu had shown it to the room, Leo hadn't been able to see it clearly before. In the picture he could study all the engravings in perfect detail.

"These are protective spells… O _fuda_ ," he said wonderingly, gazing at the ancient Japanese kanji.

"The entire box is like, a mystical containment unit," Donnie affirmed. "Hachisu must have engraved the box herself."

"That's probably the only reason she and the rest of the Lotus seem mostly unaffected," April added.

Leo nodded silently, and wished for the first time that he'd been in on the plan so he could've witnessed for himself. But then… He gave an inward chuckle, because on second thought, never mind, he didn't want to experience that at all. Monsters and aliens are one hell of a thing already, but where do you begin to confront an _onryō_?

He couldn't help think about what this meant. For them. For Splinter. For Karai... What it could do to them, if they knew this.

Tang Shen: an _onryō_. An evil, vengeful spirit.

"Do any of the others know about this? Does Splinter know?" he asked quietly.

"No," Donnie replied, then quickly added, "and I don't think he should."

"No," Leo agreed right away. Thoughtfully he looked back towards the lab doors, hot concern stewing in his belly. Striding over to the door he opened it just enough to peek through. Hachisu and her men were already packing. Karai was nowhere to be seen, supposedly in her room. Splinter must already be waiting for them in the dojo. He told Donnie and April, "Don't mention this to anyone."

They nodded, and then they all fell into a heavy silence.

"This is all so messed up," Leo said at length, shuffling over to pick up a toppled stool, and slumped onto it. "And now Hachisu's leaving _with_ the pendant. So we don't even get to know why she would be carrying around the spirit of Tang Shen! And why of all places she would have to bring it here. It couldn't have been on purpose, could it?"

Donnie let out a sour chuckle, looking exhausted. "Well, I'm glad it's gone. I've had enough ghost-hunting to last me a lifetime."

But Leo's conscience stirred, restless. "Shouldn't we do something? About Tang Shen?"

"Leo, that pendant is dangerous." April's eyes drifted to the floor, glossy and haunted. "It affected me, it… She was so angry, so sad." She embraced herself as if she was cold, and Donnie wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It's probably safer this way," she concluded, and Leo couldn't help notice her looking much more at ease under the gentle weight of Donnie's arm.

"We should at least try to talk to Hachisu again. Do you think she knew about Tang Shen?" Leo asked tentatively, not wanting to force April. She'd had enough for one night, she didn't need an interrogation.

"I'm not sure. What little she said was true, I could tell. I believe she was really surprised when she heard it tried to kill us. _Onryō_ latch onto a person that could carry out their revenge for them, so maybe Hachisu's only a servant. She may not have a choice. Anyway, it's actually a good thing she didn't say anything else in front of sensei."

"Yeah," Donnie said. "Who knows what could've happened if the ghost had gotten to Splinter?"

"Or Karai," April added glumly.

If Leo had had any hair, it would have stood on end. He didn't want to know what would happen. He didn't even want to _think_ about what would happen.

He didn't want to, and yet his gut churned with the unsettling certainty that they would find out, soon.

The T-phone in Leo's hand beeped, and Donnie quickly took his arm away from April to snatch it from him. Leo knew what it meant before Donnie's confirmation, and the timing couldn't have been better.

"Guess who," Donnie said, wiggling the phone in front of him. Leo was a little surprised to detect a hint of cynicism. It was a much different attitude than last time.

Leo stood up and followed Donnie and April to the computer.

"Damnit, the power supply is fried," Donnie grumbled after a few attempts at rebooting, and started digging in a drawer.

"Uh… should we get the others?" April stammered while Donnie feverishly fiddled around in computer guts.

Leo pondered for a bit before replying. "No. We're going to ask future us about this. They have a lot to explain."

"The guys won't like that we didn't wait for them," she sing-songed as she distractedly watched Donnie rip a part from the CPU and replace it with another from his drawer, mumbling the usual techy stuff to himself.

"We need answers now," Leo replied. "And I don't want the others to know yet, much less Splinter or Karai. Best to play it safe."

"There!" Donnie announced, and threw himself on his chair, letting out a relieved "phew" when the screen came on. A few clicks later, the infamous chat box opened, and the first words manifested on the screen.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _You there?_

Donnie side-glanced at Leo and April as if to warn them that he was going for it. Leo leaned in over his shoulder.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Hey. We have a couple of questions to ask you._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _No questions, remember, we talked about this. We just wanted to tell you when and where to meet us._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _It's about that red pendant. We found it. Why didn't you tell us it had the ghost of Tang Shen inside it?_

A few seconds passed. A minute. Donnie looked questioningly at Leo, like he might have some advice.

Leo groaned impatiently. "Keep insisting."

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _You could've saved us a lot of trouble if you'd simply told us!_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _We didn't know._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _What do you mean you didn't know? You knew it was dangerous, or else why would you have mentioned it?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _We didn't know it was Tang Shen. But now everything makes sense._

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _What makes sense?_

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Is everyone okay?_

Leo gripped the seat's back rest. "Keep asking, keep asking!"

"I only have six fingers, Leo!"

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Yeah. By the skin of our noses! That pendant almost killed us!_

 _What makes sense?_

 **Duzmachines:** _We'll talk when we get there._

"Don't let them hang up!" Leo urged, shaking the seat rest.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _No!_

 _We're not going along with this anymore until you give us something._

 _How do you expect us to trust you if we only get clipped answers from you? We need the truth. Why exactly are you coming?_

The answer took so long, Leo feared they'd already hung up. Donnie slouched over to type again when the next chunk of message appeared. They must have thought this one through a lot.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _We know. We know it sounds all kinds of suspicious, but you have to trust us. We have a plan, but for it to work we need things to happen a certain way, and we have no way of ensuring that if we tell you too much beforehand. There's no telling how much more we've already changed just by getting in contact with you. Does self-fulfilling prophecy ring a bell? Please, it's better if you just don't ask questions. We'll tell you what you need to know. No more, no less. Anything else could have unforeseeable consequences in your timeline. This is very important. Don't ask us about the future. You know it's for the best._

Before Donnie was done reading the text aloud, another line appeared.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _How's Karai?_

Leo's heart skipped a beat. There it was again, Karai's name. Donnie twisted his neck to give Leo a look that perfectly mirrored his own concerns.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _We're a little worried about her. She's been edgy ever since these Lotus people came with talks of killing Shredder. She wants to go with them._

 **Duzmachines:** _Good, it's okay._

"How is that okay?!" April cried suddenly right by Leo's ear, making him jump.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Just let her be. Don't try to stop her, it will only make things worse. And don't tell Splinter what you saw. Whatever happens, Splinter must not know about Tang Shen. Keep that pendant away from him._

Leo nodded to himself, casting another glance towards the door. They were way ahead of them on that one: soon the pendant would be out of their hair, whether they wanted it or not.

He almost didn't notice Donnie typing until he hit send: c _lack_!

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _You knew all this would happen._

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _Not all of it, unfortunately. Don't worry, everything will be fine. We're coming to help. But you have to trust us. We'll tell you everything once we're there, we promise._

Leo's throat tightened in utter frustration. His hands hurt from gripping the back rest. Feeling entirely useless in this situation, he straightened up, letting his fingers slip off the chair in defeat. They all looked at each other, then gave a collective sigh.

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Alright_.

 **Duzmachines:** _We have to go, so take notes. East River baseball fields, Thursday 4:35am. The coordinates are 40.719849, -73.973824._

 _Once there, we'll have radio communication. The portal is operational?_

 _ **Allofdisnbrainz:**_ _Yes._

Donnie practically punched the enter key.

 _ **Duzmachines:**_ _I knew it would be. See you real soon : )_

And with that, the chat went dead, their last remaining words mocking them with their infuriating lack of information. Leo shot the emoji a suspicious glare. That smiley was highly unsatisfactory. It looked dead-eyed.

"Well, that's that, I suppose," Donnie said, leaning back. "So... do we trust them? Are we still doing this?" he probed in a small voice, and Leo could tell from his hopeful, apologetic eyes that he wanted the answer to be yes after all.

Without thinking, both Donnie and Leo turned to look at April. She stared back and shrugged. "Its a _chat_. I can't get much from a bunch of pixels," she protested, motioning at the screen.

"I mean… they have a point, I suppose," Donnie said slowly. "Time travel's messy and unpredictable. We know they're not frauds: the fact that they knew about the red pendant before we even met Hachisu is further proof of that."

April thoughtfully propped her back against the table. "There may be much more to this, and we're not going to know what, unless we go through with it."

Leo didn't even find it in himself to play Devil's advocate on that. "Alright." He nodded, more to give himself strength than anything. "We go through with it. We go meet these guys and… hear what they have to say, at least."

"I'll note down the coordinates," Donnie said right away, getting to work on his phone.

"We're going to have to tell the guys about this," April said, and waved a hand at the computer screen. She didn't mean the coordinates. "They're going to find out anyway."

Leo dreaded the moment, but she was right. How they were going to do that without Karai or Splinter finding out too was the real question.

"We'll tell Mikey and Raph in the morning," he concluded. "We should go, Splinter's waiting. We can clean this up later. April, you'd better get some sleep."

"Yeah, right," she retorted bitterly, like _sleeping_ was the most ludicrous concept she'd heard that day.

Donnie started towards the exit first. "Better do as he says, April. That sounded like an _order_."

Leo looked at him. His brother had sounded casual, almost jokey, but he avoided Leo's eyes as he walked past him. Leo felt anger light anew, and let it slide only because he was too tired for more drama. That went for April as well, who was giving Leo an awkward glance. If she was still angry as well, Leo couldn't decide.

"What are you gonna tell Splinter?" she asked under her breath.

He shrugged downheartedly. "Anything except Shen being a vengeful spirit." Then he followed Donnie towards the dojo.

* * *

Karai barely heard the footsteps leave the lab through the other exit, and even then she didn't move. Rage clotted in her chest into a hot fist, taking up precious air-space. Breathing heavily, she lingered by the garage door, staring at the train tracks that got lost in the darkness of the tunnel before her.

Shredder's debt was even greater than she'd realized. Because of him, her mother never found rest. Because of _him_! This is all he'd ever been, only pain and nightmares, to himself and all those unfortunate enough to have stood in his shadow. And instead of helping her bring peace to Tang Shen, her so-called 'family' had tried to hide this information from her, like she was a child!

Completely adrift in her own oppressive thoughts, she was unaware of the passage of time until she registered the thuds and grunts of Leo's and Donnie's work-out.

She reached a conclusion. Her gullet constricted, knowing this was her only choice—knowing, as little as she liked it, there was only one person now that would support her. She picked herself up as heftily if she'd been sitting on that dank ground for days, and snuck back in the lair.

She found Hachisu at the far end of the Lotus camp, already packing and isolated from the others. She shot a vacant glare in the direction of the dojo before bowing. "Forgive me, Hachisu-no-Hana-san. I must speak with you."

Hachisu turned above her, and Karai felt her eyes drill through the top of her head. "Please tell Hamato Yoshi there is nothing more to talk about," she replied soberly, and kept folding her mat.

 _Where are you keeping her?_ Karai snarled inwardly with a covert once-over, but slapped the thought down. There would be time for that.

"I'm not here for him. I'm here on my own."

This time Hachisu stopped, and Karai took the silence to mean she was listening.

"I don't hope to change my father's mind. That is why I ask that you let me go with you, to kill Oroku Saki," Karai continued, fighting to keep her turmoil under the surface and her voice steady.

She risked a peek, and saw Hachisu regarding her quietly, her face inscrutable. Then she turned her back to Karai. "You should honor your sensei's decision. A ninja must stand with her clan. But if Hamato Yoshi should change his mind..." Hachisu rummaged in her bag until she pulled out a pamphlet of some kind. It turned out to be a map of Manhattan, the kind you got free from tourist information booths. She drew a circle between two subway stations east of Chinatown. "We will be here."

Karai straightened and accepted the map. Then, with another bow, she turned away.

On her walk back to her room, she couldn't help look over her shoulder towards the dojo. As she gazed at the silhouettes punching the air behind the paper screens, she felt hollow, a void left behind by the hope that she could still belong after all—that even in the lie that was her life, there was still someone she could count on. Even that hope had turned out to be a lie.

And yet, a part of her still held onto that lifeline's tattered remains, the smallest cry for help ecchoing through the empty, dilapidated rooms of her heart. A small part of her resisted...

She tore her eyes away, folding the map into a tiny piece, hiding it in her pocket, and slipped back into her room, feeling more alone than ever.

* * *

 **Hnngngn, amirite?**

 **What did you think of this chapter? Did you find the recap at the top useful? Remember reviews are writer chow!^^**


	24. Chapter 24

**Dramatic Leorai, anyone? We know you like it...**

 **Damn this chapter is full of feels.**

 **A huge thank you as always to our amazing betas Theherocomplex and Queequegg!**

* * *

 **Previously...**

So the onryo that attacked Donnie and April turned out to be none other than the ghost of Tang-Shen. And Hachisu-no-Hana is not happy that they discovered her secret.

After Donnie and Leo's last chat with the Future Turtles, they decide not to tell Splinter and Karai just yet, for fear of what the revelation might do to them.

What they don't know was that Karai was only a door away, listening to every word.

* * *

The news about the future turtles' upcoming arrival may have helped lessen Leo's and Donnie's sentence. Sensei seemed more interested in hearing the details—almost excited, in his own reserved, lofty way—and only briefly lectured Leo and Donnie on honor, responsibility, and consequence. But even that lacked the heat that Leo had expected. In fact, he could swear Splinter seemed… happy the Lotus was leaving.

When it came to the narration of the night's events, obviously they left out the part about Tang Shen being the evil ghost who had attacked Donnie. To think, even in this very moment, she remained trapped inside Hachisu's pendant, just outside the dojo...

No… Splinter didn't need to know that just yet.

Of course, despite Splinter being in a relatively good mood, and even though the ghost attack hadn't been all their fault, they had dishonored their guest and taken possessions without consent. So it was almost dawn before either he or Donnie had finished their exercises and katas. By then, the Lotus were done packing and ready to leave.

Had the relationship between the clans ended on a happier note, Leo's entire family would have been there, bidding them farewell and good luck. As it was, only Leo and Splinter went to see the Lotus off at the turnstiles.

"I do not suppose there is a chance you might reconsider your mission," Splinter told Hachisu-no-Hana in a hush, sober voice—one last attempt at saving this clan from certain extinction.

"No," Hachisu replied flatly, and Leo couldn't help notice the spiritless look on some of the Lotuses' eyes, knowing what awaited them. It made Leo think their resolution wasn't as firm as their kashira's. And yet he never saw the smallest gesture of rebellion or hesitation. They were so different from the Hamatos. Leo couldn't remember all the times he had complained that his brothers didn't always follow orders like he wished, that they weren't a little bit more like the Lotus. Now he found himself wishing these soldiers would speak out. Then maybe the Lotus Clan would have a chance

Splinter nodded gravely. "So be it. Good luck."

The two clans aligned, ready to bow, but Hachisu stalled.

"Hamato-sensei, one thing I promise," she began with the faintest urgency. "I did not intend to put your family in danger."

Remembering what April had said about Hachisu speaking the truth, Leo could've believed that much, and be grateful for the apology. But he just didn't know if he trusted her at all anymore. He covertly searched Splinter, and after a couple of seconds, his father simply offered an unassuming nod.

Hachisu was the first to bow, followed by her clan, and Leo and Splinter. Just like that, they turned and passed through the turnstiles in somber silence.

Watching the Lotus clan disappear down the tunnel, Leo realized in a gut-wrenching bout of sadness that it might be the last time they saw any of them alive.

* * *

"Whoa…" Raph frowned as he stared down at his untouched bowl of cereal, hands flat on the table.

Leo nodded, still munching on the information himself. Last night had been wild even by their standards. With Karai still in her bedroom, and Splinter enjoying his bathroom hour, he and Donnie had a few minutes to catch Raph and Mikey up on the Tang Shen revelation, as well as the future turtles' arrival time. April had left for school just after the Lotus, looking sullen and sleepy, and hanging her head.

Across the table, Mikey was wide-eyed, stunned, though never speechless, and never too preoccupied to eat. "Holy chalupa, dudes. Tang Shen tried to kill us!" His words were muffled by the breakfast pizza in his cheeks. "And Splinter didn't recognize her?"

"Well, Hachisu keeps her inside the talisman." Donnie's voice was steady enough, but his eyes were hooded and blood-shot as he kept watch at the door, slurping down his third mug of coffee. At this point, Leo didn't bother asking how long since the last time his brother got a good night's rest, knowing the answer would just be a dismissive shrug.

"Not even April realized there was a ghost at first," Donnie continued. "Splinter could barely sense that there was something in there at all."

The weight of the new knowledge blanketted the breakfast table like a thick winter fog. Even Mikey was quiet, the vacant stare and jaws working on autopilot making him look like a pastured cow. With so much going on, it seemed impossible that the Lotus had only arrived in the lair not even two days ago.

Raph's bitter chuckle broke the silence. "Man, you can't expect to keep something like this from Splinter, let alone Karai."

Mikey snorted, though he seemed far from amused, even as he soaked the pizza in his milk. "Yeah, do you not know Karai?" he said, as he absently took another wolf bite.

Their words plucked at Leo's heart. Even with all the precautions, he knew his brothers were right: Karai and Splinter would have to find out eventually. He just doubted there would ever be a right time.

At least he had hope that today would be better. Karai had seemed in a better mood the previous evening, having fun at girls' night with April and Mikey. Although disgruntled with the way things turned out with Hachisu-no-Hana, he suddenly felt relief that the Lotus were gone. Ever since they arrived with talks of revenge, Karai had been more difficult than ever. He had to wonder if this was the same reason why Splinter wasn't angrier. Maybe now Karai would settle down and forget about suicide missions—at least until they came up with an actual plan. Wishful thinking?

"Just keep your mouths shut on the topic until the future turtles arrive. They have a plan," Leo said, managing to sound more confident than he felt and ignoring Raph's scoff. "You guys can manage one day without mentioning Shen, right?"

"You just mentioned her, Cap'n," Mikey retorted.

Leo glared. "Starting now."

"Hey, but what if Karai was supposed to leave, but because future us warned us, we can work it out so she doesn't?" his optimistic brother suggested, more pensive than Leo usually got to see him. "Maybe that's what it was? They were warning about Karai leaving because of her fight with Master Splinter? You guys think that's what happened in their universe?"

Leo shrugged wistfully. "Could be."

Another fear crept into the back of his mind. He snuck a glance at Donnie and Raph, and saw the same concern etched on their brows. What if Karai leaving wasn't the worst of it? He kicked the thought out, shut the mental door behind it, and restrained himself from saying it out loud.

"So what are we gonna do about this?" Raph asked. He still hadn't touched his cereal. "This pendant—are we gonna try to get it back or what?"

Leo shook his head at the floor. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"But it's Tang—" Raph closed his mouth at Leo's warning glare, and his next words were merely a whisper. "It's You-know-who!"

"I know," Leo said. He didn't like leaving Shen in the hands of a stranger clan either. "But it's too dangerous to have around for now. And we don't even know where the Lotus will be hiding. We'll see what the future turtles have to say on the matter."

Raph gave a dissatisfied grunt. "Man, these future guys better deliver. We're betting a lot on them."

"Yeah, all this not knowing is really getting on my nerves," Mikey confessed, picking up the leftover crumbs from the plate and table and licking them off his finger.

"I think it's getting on all our nerves," Leo agreed.

"At least we finally have a date of arrival," said Donnie, holding his mug under his chin, the wisps of steam licking his snout. "We're finally gonna find out what this whole thing is about." He chuckled, and Leo couldn't be sure if it was sarcastic. "This is gonna be a ride."

"Oh shit, I know right? The hype is real!" Mikey exclaimed. His ability to go from worry to excitement within a finger snap never ceased to amaze Leo. And even in the face of uncertainty, when Mikey said it like that—the radiant smile, that glimmer in his clear blue eyes as he served himself another plate—Leo was inclined to believe him. He allowed one corner of his mouth to curl upwards, warmed by the ember of hope inside him, rekindled by the fresh perspective.

"It kinda is, yeah," Donnie agreed, and a timid smile appeared on his face as well.

"It's tonight, dudes! I can't wait to see future me!"

"Well, I'm not so sure." Raph's grumble tore through the budding excitement like a lawn mower.

"It's them, Raph," Leo said. "We've established that much. And they're coming to help."

"Whatever. Even if that's true, you can't deny this is kind of messed up! I mean, isn't anyone worried about what this might do to our heads? What if they're not what we want to see? What if it sucks? Then we gotta live with the knowledge that that is our future."

"For example?" Mikey asked casually after washing down the ball of food with a large swig of his orange juice.

"Like, what if I'm missing an eye or something? Or you could be missing an arm."

The image Raph conjured sent a shiver up Leo's spine.

On the other hand, Mikey seemed completely unphased as he smeared scrambled eggs over a new pizza slice. "That's okay, I'll just ask Donnie to make me a cool bionic Swiss Army arm. Heh. Swiss arm-y." He toasted Donnie with his pizza, clearly waiting for laughter that never came. Meanwhile, Leo was trying to ignore the Mad-Max-ish picture plaguing his mind.

Donnie only gave the comments a patronizing smile, then retorted a little impatiently, his voice thick and tired, "Guys, I keep telling you. That's not how this works. Even if Raph's picture turned out to be true, our timelines are not the same: their timeline is totally independent from us, and ours from theirs. That means our future is very unlikely to be anything like their future. They are not us."

Raph rolled his eyes, stubborn as ever. "Then why are they coming here? What's the point, if our lives are so different as you say, if nothing they do here affects them?"

"Well, those are points two and three respectively in my list of questions." Donnie shrugged, and took another gulp.

"Hey, I didn't know we could make a list!" Mikey chimed in, then quickly kicked his stool back and ran to grab the first paper he could find on the counter. "I have so much to ask them!"

Leo clicked his tongue, unable to contain himself even in a time like this. "I told you a hundred times not to doodle on the shopping list!"

"And why are you so cheerful?" Raph demanded irritably, watching Mikey scribble, Leo's words once again unheeded.

Mikey paused to ponder for a moment, like that was actually a pretty good question. "I dunno, I guess I like these future dudes." He smiled, and proceeded to stuff his mouth once more as if he didn't expect to have to speak again, before continuing to write.

"You haven't even met them yet—!"

"Hey-y-y, morning, sleepy head!" Donnie announced with an overstated cheerfulness over Raph's impatient screeches, which signalled the end of the conversation.

Leo put a finger to his lips, Raph jabbed a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, and Mikey stuffed his list in his shell under his armpit. A few seconds later, Karai walked in.

"Looks like someone slept…" Leo was going to say 'well', until he caught sight of her. His hopes that today would be a better day than yesterday banished in a puff of smoke.

Karai looked ill. Her face was pasty and gaunt as she passed by Donnie, who shared an uncertain look with Leo, and went straight for the fridge with a dull "Hey."

Concerned, Leo slowly stood up. "Karai? Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good."

To his surprise, Karai straightened and scowled at him, her lip curled in disbelief. Then she quickly turned away, grabbing a can of soda and slamming the fridge door shut. Leo could only stare, confused, as Karai started chugging down the soda with her back to him. He had no idea what he'd said to offend her. He was just worried about her.

Until half an instant later, when it dawned on him.

"She's just not wearing her makeup," Raph stated casually before getting back to his cereal, and Leo repressed a facepalm, trying to ignore Mikey's 'ooooo' face.

Karai's make-up was just as much a part of her face as that little beauty mark under her tear duct. But today, for some reason, she hadn't put it on, and the lack of sleep was obvious in the dark shadows around her eyes.

Before he could contain himself, he blurted out, "Is this because of what I said about Hachisu?"

It had occurred to him for a second that Karai was simply jealous. She'd heard him praise the way Hachisu pulled off the modest, no makeup look, and probably thought he would like to see it on her as well.

But as soon as Karai turned around, stabbing him with her death glare, he knew for sure he'd screwed up big time.

"I just didn't feel like it today, alright?" she snapped, and Leo ducked, because for a moment he thought she would fling the empty can at him. But it only hit the bin with a loud bang, and she headed out. "So dojo, or what?"

Leo's brothers all turned to him with undisguised looks of 'yikes'. He sighed and ordered a move-on.

So now she was angry at him again, and all because he worried about her and wanted to be nice.

Served him right, Leo thought as he followed the others to the dojo.

* * *

Leo had only just gotten out of the dojo, and there they went again. Out and in, barely any time to rest. The carpets were still pungent from their previous workout.

Karai was already kneeling in position when Leo walked in, and completely ignored him as he went to sit in line next to her as usual.

He decided to get right down to business for now, hoping she'd play along. Maybe he should bring back 'fire with fire'. It worked last time...

"Alright," he announced once everybody was sitting. "While we wait for sensei, we can discuss our next plan of action. This future thing has been occupying most of our attention lately, and we're still gonna wait for them in case they know something, but we can't forget about that missing mutagen. We need a contingency plan. Oh, uh..." He addressed Karai, realizing she hadn't heard this. "We have a time of arrival for the future turtles. They're coming tonight at 4 am."

He waited for Karai to act offended because they didn't wait for her to give the news, but Karai only glanced briefly at him, then nodded.

"So yeah," he continued in an irked monotone, not even bothering with the details seeing as she didn't care. "We still have a ton of mutagen to track down."

"But where else can we look?" Donnie said with a yawn.

"What about the Lotus?" Raph said on Leo's other side. "Did they give some kind of intel?"

"Well, if they had any, we're not getting it. Not anymore," Leo said, not even trying to downplay his discontent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Donnie lowering his gaze to the floor. "So we'll try hacking into their databases, see if they got something." And this time, Donnie didn't object.

Then there was a loud groan, and everyone turned to Karai. She had her eyes closed, slowly shaking her head.

Already in a bad enough mood, Leo cleared his throat. "Anything you want to contribute?"

"Going after the Purple Dragons is like cutting the leaves on a weed," Karai said immediately, not with the slightest hint of cynicism or mockery, but with a long-suffering expression, like this was the thousandth time she'd had to explain it. "Shredder is the root of everything. It's him we should be fighting, and you know it."

Leo looked around at his brothers, seeking help. Donnie and Mikey seemed pretty determined to stay out of it for the time being. Raph, however…

"Actually, I have to agree with her on this one," he said squarely.

Now it was Leo's turn to give a tired sigh. "Seriously, Raph? You're doing this now? You never agree with her!"

"Well, she has a point now." Raph shrugged. "The Purple Dragons are most likely just gathering all that mutagen for Shredder. Why don't we just make peace with the Lotus, go to his lair and knock down some walls?"

Leo pinched between his eyes, summoning all his remaining patience. "First, we don't know that it's the Foot. Shredder's more powerful now than he's ever been—"

"And he'll keep getting stronger unless we do something soon!" Karai said on his other flank, cutting Raph's incoming reprisal short, and almost giving Leo whiplash. He noticed Donnie leaning slightly forward as if he'd been about to speak as well. But now Leo's brothers only looked hesitantly at Karai and him.

"My point remains," Leo said firmly. "Everytime we try to sneak up on Shredder, something goes horribly wrong."

Karai's temper was fragile as thin ice, and he was currently walking all over it, slowly, avoiding sudden moves in order to get to the other shore alive. He swallowed a ball of frustration down, where it already felt pretty packed, and lowered his voice to a gentler tone.

"Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

He didn't have to specify. She—they were all dealing with the consequences of her falling in that pool of mutagen for months. Actually, they still were. Leo was slightly surprised to see Karai look down in clear shame.

"Last time it was me alone. I know that was stupid," she admitted. "But together with the Lotus Clan we can take down Shredder, Leo. This is our chance to join forces! Why don't you see it?" Her body was fully turned towards him, almost pleading.

It hurt him to have to stand by his words.

"We can't just wing something like this, Karai. We need to be prepared, and even then we might not succeed. Even if we had the Lotus on our side, they would outnumber us, probably twenty to one. Striking the Foot at their own fortress is suicide. A frontal assault is not an option, and we don't have the necessary intel for a stealth operation. They most likely changed things a lot since you left."

"We should've attacked then."

Leo sighed. "We've been through this. You weren't well, it wasn't the right time."

Karai closed her eyes, and Leo hoped that was it. He should've learned by now it was never that easy with Karai

"One day Shredder will come up with something we won't be able to fight. While you're trying to 'know more', Shredder may already be at our door."

"The lair's the safest place in New York," Donnie chimed in merrily. "I just upgraded the grid. State of the art."

Finally some help, Leo thought, and added, "Yeah, and it doesn't mean we're forgetting about Shredder. That is why we patrol. But I trust sensei. If he chooses to wait, then we wait."

"Oh, please. Will you get down from father's lap? Splinter's not as all-knowing as you make him out to be." There it was, the point where Karai realized she was getting nowhere with measured words. Leo braced himself: now, she went for the jugular.

On the other side of Karai, Mikey looked so disheartened Leo doubted he'd be able to pick a side when it came down to it. His normally cheerful brother was a great reference to know how serious a situation was. If he wasn't laughing or cracking jokes, then you knew it was serious. And Leo had rarely seen Mikey so quiet.

Donnie didn't seem to know what to say either, and even Raph had stopped talking. Why would he, when Karai was already doing all the work?

Leo steeled himself, since apparently he would have to fight this fight alone. "There's no argument, Karai. We wait." And in the spirit of 'fire with fire', he threw in a smug, "Suck it up."

Karai's jaw muscles twitched, her eyes blazing. Leo had expected something like that. But what she said next, her voice like acid, he never saw coming.

"Why are you leader?"

He reeled. "Excuse me?"

"Why are you leader?" Karai repeated, a challenge in her forward posture, her eyes dead set on him, unyielding. "Is it because of how well you suck up to Splinter? After all, I'm the oldest, I'm more qualified. What's more, I'm Splinter's real daughter!"

Leo's breath was knocked right out. He could see his brothers' eyes on them, wide and unblinking.

He had never felt more betrayed. How long had this been on her mind?

"Are you serious with this, Karai?" Raph growled suddenly, making to get up, but Leo stopped him.

Leave it to me, he told him silently with his gaze, and Raph took a reluctant step back.

Leo turned to Karai, and gave her a disbelieving look. "I carry the Hamato name just like all of us. We are Splinter's legitimate sons, as you are his daughter. I can't believe you would say something like that. You're Japanese, you know how it works—"

She took her eyes away, and blew an irritated huff at the carpet. "You weeabo, what would you know about our culture? What do you know about family traditions, or anything?"

Something inside Leo gave way, and all his pent-up frustration came up like vomit. A sarcastic chuckle hit the back of his throat.

"I'm surprised you have the courage to say you know more about family than we do, being Shredder's daughter."

He should've seen it coming. Karai threw herself at him. All of a sudden, Leo was on his shell, Karai's blade at his throat. Instincts taking over, he rolled on the spot, managing an armlock. He twisted Karai's wrist, disarming her, and the blade fell with a soft clang on the carpets.

She came back, snarling, with a knee kick to his chin, and he fell on his side. Next thing he knew, he was pinned on his plastron, immobilized by Karai's legs, his neck in a tight chokehold.

"Take it back!" she growled in his ear.

"Karai!" he heard the others yell. "Let go!"

Karai shook him once. "Take it back!"

Leo would've taken it back, if his windpipe hadn't been compressed like that—not a killing move, by far: it was about dominance.

About to make his move, he felt a struggle above. Suddenly the pressure on his throat receded, and Karai's weight lifted from him. The others must have yanked her off him. He rolled over to see Karai stomping towards the exit.

"Always a pleasure speaking with you, Karai," he called defiantly over his shoulder as he pushed himself back to his knees.

"Leo, come on." Mikey's voice and expression said please don't make it worse.

"Oh, what? Now I'm the bad guy?" Leo groaned, rubbing his throat, stomach churning with a nauseating cocktail of anger and regret. "Thanks for backing me up, by the way."

"Don't pin this on us, dude. You didn't even want the help," Raph said with all the kindness of a collapsing building.

They all looked at Leo like a balloon that had been blown up too tight, and Leo bristled, Karai's words still resonating in his ears.

"She practically said we're not Splinter's sons!" Forget the chokehold: that had hurt the most.

"Leo, calm down," Donnie said, so carefully it felt like an insult.

"No," Leo snapped, determination welling inside him, born out of pure frustration. "I'm not calming down. Not this time."

As Leo stood, Donnie made to stop him. "I'm not sure that's-"

"I know, Donnie. I got this," he retorted, but collected himself to assuage his brother's worries before walking calmly past him with a nod.

"Tell Splinter I'll be right back."

Leo liked to think, in terms of serenity and self-control, he was a master among his brothers. He really didn't lose his patience often. But if they kept poking the sleeping mizuchi, it was bound to wake up eventually and take a chomp out of someone. And today the mizuchi had been poked, kicked and pulled on its tail. And it was now too riled up to go back to sleep.

He was tired of being careful, of treading on the fragile eggshells of Karai's temper with his metaphorical bunny slippers. So this time he wasn't going to wait for her to cool off, and then act like everything was okay. This time he would not shut up, he would get her to talk to him and figure out what was going through her head, even if he had to be choked again in the process.

As he climbed down the stairs, he heard Mikey moan. "These family fights bum me out so much, dude…"

"It'll be okay, Mikey. We have pork rinds in the kitchen," Donnie's voice offered tenderly.

"Pork rinds would be good."

Leo could almost hear the roll of Raph's eyes.

* * *

As Leo approached Karai's door he could hear sounds of clatter and shuffling at the other side, until he made it halfway down the hall, and they abruptly died. When he reached the door, it was so quiet anyone else would've thought it empty. Unlike the other bedrooms, this one didn't have an opaque window. But Leo knew: Karai was only listening.

He balled his hands into fists, furious, not just with Karai but with himself, and with how hard things were. He wasn't sure who to blame for things being this difficult. Remembering the future turtles' warning, if it could even be called that, he was suddenly terrified of having triggered whatever might happen to Karai, and his anger started to ebb away.

Who would've thought fighting fire with fire would make more fire? You idiot, Leo thought, wanting to slap himself.

After a few moments of wondering whether he should just turn around and walk away, he took a deep breath, and knocked softly.

No answer. Well, no surprise there.

"It's Leo," he said into the wood, obvious though it was.

"Tottoto dete ike, Baka ka!" came Karai's voice from inside. Insults. No surprise there either.

He heaved another deep breath. "I just want to talk."

There was a thumping coming closer, and the door opened to reveal Karai's seething face.

"What are you, deaf or just dumb? You want me to say it in your language? Go. The flying—"

"Karai."

"—fuck. Away!"

"Karai, please! This gets us nowhere," Leo insisted, gritting his teeth. He raised his hands, pleading for calm. "I think we can work this out like adults. What I said before, I take it back. There. Now can I come in? I'll let you choke me some more if that'll help."

She shot him a disbelieving glower. "You're an idiot."

"Yes! Yes, I am!" That seemed to have the desired effect as she gaped at him for about 0.7 seconds, enough to ask, "Can I come in?"

She swivelled around into her room, but left the door ajar—her way of inviting him in, he supposed. Karai wasn't one to easily apologize; Leo knew the fact that she had let him in could almost count as an apology in and of itself. A small victory.

When he pushed the door open and came in, she was already sitting on her bed, her back leaned against the wall. She had picked up a magazine, and was skimming through it like she hadn't noticed him.

Karai's room was dim and austere, already embedded with its inhabitant's touch—and her smell; it smelled different than when April was using it. More spicy, with shades of sandalwood. The walls were decorated with some rock band and J-punk posters and stickers, but there was no sight of all the CDs, comics and make-up sets that Leo knew she had somewhere.

That was the thing about Karai: she never gave away the whole story, only the bits and pieces that she considered pertinent, safe. That's why, instead of shelves and wardrobes, the room was equipped with multiple lockers and trunks they had recovered for her, and that later she had reinforced with big badass bolts. When they asked her about this, she simply replied, "Force of habit." To this day none of them knew exactly what she kept in those containers, and none were too tempted to peek in case they were booby-trapped. If Leo had to guess, a lot of it was her shōjo manga collection.

Normally Karai was relatively tidy, but today her bed was unmade, and some of her clothes scattered on the floor along with some of the usual ninja instruments. He noticed her new armor lying haphazardly at the opposite corner, as if she'd torn it off and flung it across the room.

An unexpected flash of color pulled his gaze towards her nightstand, and he couldn't help but grin at the little tsum-tsum turtle totem she'd put together. Four turtles, each with their own colored bandanas, on top of a bigger rat.

"What do you want?" Karai demanded, still not lifting her eyes from the pages. "I thought you'd said it all, oh Fearless Leader."

He'd heard that name countless times before, and it was amazing how much the meaning changed from time to time. They called him Fearless, when he was anything but. Especially in moment like this, when his heart pounded so fiercely.

He spent a few seconds just standing there, pondering on how to properly approach her, and immediately decided not mentioning Shredder was rule number one. Better shelve the game of thrones issue for later as well.

"You know? There's a saying," he began finally, injecting his voice with all the composure he could gather. "'Don't let the sun go down on your anger. Forgive each other, begin again tomorrow'."

A slow blink, and Karai looked up, one side of her nose quirking in disgust. "Did you get that from a fortune cookie?"

"Actually, Master Splinter told me."

She let out a dry chuckle, and mumbled, "Splinter's always been like a walking fortune cookie." Then she went back to her magazine.

Unsure of whether that observation about Splinter had been unrespectful or not, Leo decided to go on as if he hadn't heard it. "The thing is, we both got a little fired up earlier…"

"Ugh, where are you going with this, Leo?" she interrupted him, but it was her voice that took him aback. She didn't sound angry anymore. Just tired.

"Hear me out, Karai. Please. I didn't mean what I said. I was trying... "

"Whatever you have to say, it makes no difference. It's clear what you think of me—what you all think of me."

Leo winced, never regretting saying something as much as he regretted reminding her of her link to Oroku Saki. Not that she would need reminding. But Leo'd never wanted her to think that it mattered, to any of them. And yet that was exactly what his words had told her.

"I promise, it's not like that. You have to understand—"

"No!" Karai flung her magazine aside, and got up to face Leo. "I've heard it all before! You're the one who doesn't understand! You don't know what this is like, wondering how much of what I do is really me or how much is… the Shredder." She grimaced in disgust, and started pacing in front of Leo. "He still has an influence on me, I can feel it. I hate it! I hate knowing that he'll always be a part of me. And you know the worst thing?"

Leo couldn't tell if she wanted him to answer her question or not, as she paused to stare at him, her expression practically supplicating.

"Sometimes I miss it—I miss being Foot," she said at length, taking her eyes away. "The Foot was my life. I had power, I knew my place. I knew who I was. Now I don't know anything." Her shoulders sagged. "I feel like I don't entirely fit in here. I can see it in the way father looks at me. Like I'm a stranger. It's just… It's something I can't live with anymore."

At her words, Leo's stomach clenched. From the moment they rescued her, took her in, a part of him always feared she'd one day come to the conclusion that she didn't belong here, and leave them again.

"I get it—" he started to say, unable to bare the pain in her eyes, but she interrupted him again with a groan.

"You don't get it, or you would support me on this."

"I do get it! But this isn't the way!" How could he make her understand? What else could he say?

She squinted at him, unbelieving, head tilted to one side. Then her expression hardened, and Leo faltered.

"I know about Tang Shen," she said, the name turning Leo's blood cold. "I heard you, and Donnie and April, talking in the lab. All of it. And I know you tried to keep it from me."

Oh, man… Leo thought with a hundred mental facepalms. He didn't bother trying to come up with an explanation. She had been right there. She knew.

"So don't try to tell me you get it," Karai finished, with a derisive toss of her head.

Nearly panicking, Leo racked his brains, urging his inner strategist to find a way to out of this mess. Everything was going so wrong.

Forget fire. Just tell the truth.

"I'm… I'm sorry we didn't tell you, it's just… We were worried you might do something..." don't say stupid "—hasty." Dammit, too slow, he groaned to himself, suppressing a cringe.

Karai shook her head with an impatient sigh.

He insisted, taking a step towards her. "Listen to me. Vengeance will not bring you peace."

She scoffed. "There you go again, quoting dad on everything like he's never wrong. Well, he's wrong about this."

"All Splinter wants—what we all want—is for you to be safe."

"And what are you gonna do? Keep me in a little padded room until I die of old age? It doesn't matter if I'm miserable, if I can't sleep at night, as long as I'm alive and living by your rules?"

"Of course not, but you don't have to go on a suicide mission to prove yourself!"

"You know I still have nightmares?" she blurted out, Leo's brain screeching to a halt at the way she was looking at him, as though this was also his fault. "I dream that I'm under Shredder's control, and I'm attacking you guys, seeing it all happen, but I can't stop myself. Other times I'm strapped to a lab table, and when I wake up, I still can't move. And I keep hearing your screams, and Shredder's voice ordering me to kill you. And it feels so real that for a few moments I believe it's all happening again."

Leo could only listen, horrified by the sheer desperation in her voice, the weight of her story pressing on his chest, and he felt the urge to embrace her. Just take her in his arms and hold her tight. He wanted to tell her how much he cared for her, to reassure her that this was her place now, and they would do anything for her.

He stopped himself with a jerk, afraid to mess things up even more, and she looked at him as if she could see right through. —

"I'm so sorry, Karai…" was the only thing he could think to say. She didn't reply, but let her gaze fall to the floor, arms crossed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Karai's throat worked. "Because it shames me. I just…" She straightened up, and turned to Leo, imploring. "I have to face Shredder. I need to. It's the only way I can be free. Why can't any of you see that?"

Leo moved forward, grasping her arms. "Karai, you have a family now. We want you to be happy. We'll help you," he promised, even though he had no clue how they would do that just yet. But somehow they'd find a way. He remembered something. "The future turtles are arriving tonight. They're here to help, they'll have some answers," he offered in an attempt at being optimistic.

But Karai only looked blankly at him, unconvinced, and so thoroughly unimpressed, even at the prospect of their own future time-travelling selves. She just looked way beyond caring right now, which made him feel all the more useless.

He so desperately wanted to help her, but Karai had always kept just out of his reach. Now that Leo knew what set them apart, she seemed further than ever. Now he could only beg. "Just… let it settle, please. Don't rush into anything. Please, promise me."

He tightened his hold just slightly and she sighed, a tiny release of pressure from a monstrous geiser that was long overdue. Then, for the longest three seconds, she only looked at him.

Her voice was soft and oddly serene when she spoke again. "I'll think about it."

* * *

 **Hnnngjfhgh ok what do you guys think? Did you like? Have any theories?**

 **Remember: reviews are writer chow!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hogawds, guys, we've gotten a few reviews lately that made us want to cross-stitch and frame them! All you guys who leave just a nice short comment have no idea how engouraging that is to us, and it really makes all the hours upon hours of work totally worth it, just knowing it makes someone happy. Though because ffnet's comment and reply system sucks, we can't be sure of who we've replied to SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH JUST IN CASE!**

 **And of course huge thanks as always to our wonderful betas, Theherocomplex and Queequegg! ^3^**

 **In this chapter we have April being miserable and then getting some sweet turtley comfort YES WE KNOW YOU LIKE THAT ENJOY.**

* * *

 **Previously...**

The Lotus clan was gone, probably never to be seen again. And even though it was a good thing that the ghost that almost killed Donnie (the ghost of Tang Shen, no less) was gone with them, the incident had also gotten April, and Donnie and Leo in trouble.

A few days before that, April's date with Casey had been nothing short of a fiasco. But maybe next one could make up for it... Even though April felt bad enough for Donnie.

* * *

 _The thing is,_ _I deserve every bit of it, so… Alright I guess_ , April thought as she dragged her way down to the school science lab. She was barely half-way through the school day and already wished she'd tried one of Mikey's Fish n' Capers Surprise Fajitas just to have a reason to skip class.

The day had started out just _peachy_ —if a day could even start when the last hadn't ended yet. How did Donnie manage to do this every other night? Without sleep, her brain couldn't tell one day from another. The only rest she'd gotten was when she'd nodded off in the lab, before the whole shebang with the murderous ghost-in-a-box. As she tossed and turned in Donnie's bed, it didn't help that she could still hear the Lotus packing, and Donnie's and Leo's shouts from the dojo as they underwent their punishment. Every _kiai_ felt like a punch to the gut.

It didn't get any better after she left the lair for school in a kind of sleep-deprived fugue state: upon arrival, she realized her phone had been in plane mode since the previous night, and when she switched it off, she was greeted by more than a few angry texts and missed calls from her dad. Not in the mood nor the place for an over-the-phone scolding, she tried to appease him with texts full of apologies and promises, and almost broke her nose climbing the stairs while typing, to the amusement of every student around her.

Then, once in class, she went to take out her math homework, and her stomach sank when she reached in her backpack and her laptop wasn't there. It had to be at the lair! On Donnie's desk! So long as it had managed to survive her literally _exploding_ , of course.

Ah, her so-called 'powers'. Her _powers_ , which lately had caused more problems than they solved. If she hadn't let herself be influenced by that ghost, if she hadn't opened that stupid box, Tang Shen wouldn't have attacked them—attacked _Donnie_.

 _God! He could've been killed! Good job keeping those powers under control, April._

The self-recrimination was all that ran through her mind, class after class, information bouncing off her like ping pong balls—which did not spell out a good forecast for her upcoming exams week.

 _I wonder how my future self did with High School. I suppose she went to college… Wonder what she majored in, and where. Would it be okay to ask her? Would it even help if I knew? What if I don't like this future April?_

Damn, as if she didn't have enough with her dad burying her in uni brochures. How could she not think about the future, when the future was coming to meet her in person?

The future turtles would be arriving in just 17 hours… 16… 13… And there she was, solving for the hypotenuse and taking teacher's dictations from some random play by Whatshisname IV. Oh, she really couldn't care any less today. Not even Science Lab was likely to cheer her up.

But finals were approaching fast and hey, speaking of futures, she still had to secure herself one.

At this point she would take simply making it through the end of the school year with her sanity intact.

"Hey, Red!"

April jumped, and nearly back-handed Casey's gap-toothed smirk, which had poked out from behind a passing locker door.

He recoiled, hands in the air. "Whoa! Jumpy much?"

April started to reply, then got a full look at his face.

Bruises were a common feature of the Casey Jones aesthetic—he always said they enhanced his 'macho-ness'. It was a good thing he was in the hockey team or every teacher in school would be onto him. But today's look had gone a bit overboard, and was more like an abstract painting: reds and purples and greens all mixing in choppy strokes and scratches, topped by a band aid at the side of his forehead.

"Whoa, those are new."

"Oh, that?" he barked a laugh. "Well, that was only Billy and all his, you know, 'collateral'. But I'm saving that story for later. Check it out..." He signalled April closer—revealing even more fresh scratches on his palms—and pried open his backpack.

"Is that…?" she bit her lips, conscious enough not to say the word 'alcohol' aloud in a school hallway. She took a cautious glance around at the passing students, shielding Casey's locker from view with her body. The green bottle read 'Tipsy Moose Mezcal, Made in Taiwan'.

"You said Wednesday, so I got a lil' something special in case we could, you know, 'hang out'." He wiggled the backpack, eyebrows doing the foxtrot. "Don't let the price tag fool you, this shit's delicious."

Oh, damn, it _was_ Wednesday. She'd completely forgotten about their pending date.

"Casey, I… I don't want to seem like I'm making excuses, but didn't you get the memo? The future turtles are coming tonight. And I have so much homework to catch up on. My lab partner's still AWOL, and I have a ton of research to do in the library for this essay before heading to the lair." Not to mention Splinter's punishment, which was waiting for her as well. She wondered if anyone had told Casey about last night yet, about Tang Shen—it was hard to know, since too often Casey's reactions to serious events were unconventionally cheerful.

"That's cool, we can do library first," he said, making April cock her eyebrow, then her hip.

"Casey Jones at a library? I'll believe that when I see it. You know there's _books_ there, right?" she whispered in mock-dread, as if the word _books_ was synonymous for 'rat infestation'.

Casey shrugged, carefree. "I guess I _could_ use a bit of quiet study time."

"Huh. That's actually great to hear, Casey," she said, thinking maybe, _just maybe_ , there was hope for him after all.

"And then express-date. With 'Moose'." He wiggled the backpack again, the liquid contents sloshing quietly.

April crossed her arms, and said squarely, "No 'Moose'."

"Aw, seriously? I got this to share!" Casey started to protest, but halted at her look. "Okay, fine! No 'Moose'." He zipped the backpack closed and stuffed it back in his locker. "So express-date?"

April allowed herself a chuckle. What the hell, Casey's vitality might just turn her day around.

"If you're good," she said, and rolled her eyes at his victorious fist pump.

"It's a date, then." The bell rang as he slammed the locker door shut. "Library. Quittin' time." He shot her a charming smile before skating away.

"Sure you won't get lost?" she called after him.

"Very funny, Red!" he hollered back, slaloming his way down the hall between students, and she took off running towards her own class before she got in any more trouble.

* * *

Casey arrived at the library half an hour late. Apparently he'd had to ask for directions. And he reeked of cheap cologne and deodorant. Probably got it from the same place he got that 'Moose' stuff.

"Why don't you try to concentrate for a while?" she whispered, interrupting Casey's monologue on… well, hockey, or something, she didn't know for sure. She _was_ trying not to pay attention, for homework's sake.

"I did! I'm blocked." He grinned, flapping the pages of his textbook.

"You've been here fifteen minutes."

"Exactly! Time for a break. How about you and I go out to the back and crack open that 'Moose'?" he suggested, clearly confident of his witty charm. She really hoped he hadn't brought that 'Moose' crap to the library.

"Will you _please_ just let me finish this?"

She realized the look she had just given him had been a tad manic, but if it helped…

For a moment it seemed like it had, as Casey's smile receded and he leaned his head on his hands, appearing to finally settle down and read. That lasted about twenty seconds before he started tapping his feet, and humming. Someone shushed them from another table and April ducked her head, shielding herself behind her own hands.

For another five minutes she tried hard not to hear him.

Until it started raining bits of eraser on her pages, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Case-" A piece flew into her open mouth and she sputtered.

"Oh shit, sorry, April. You okay?" he giggled under his breath.

Officially out of patience, she smacked the book shut. "If you're not going to take this seriously, I'll have to study at home," she said in angry whispers as she stuffed her things in her backpack, pushing away from the table and heading for the exit at a quick pace.

Before she was out the door, she heard the noisy drag of Casey's chair on the floor, followed by the squeaking of a pair of sneakers getting closer. She made sure to close the door right on his nose. It opened again immediately as she stormed down the hallway.

"Hey! Come on, April, what's your beef?"

She whipped around, and snarled, "My _beef_?"

"Yeah, I was just kidding around!" he protested, throwing a hand back at the library door and rubbing his nose with the other.

"You heard me say I needed to work, right? You _know_ this is important, Casey! Finals are right around the corner and I have enough on my plate without you throwing bits of eraser in my mouth!"

Casey blew out a breath, shuffling his feet. "Come on, why do you care so much about a stupid exam?"

" _Exams_ ," she corrected him, wondering if Casey was even aware that it was true for all students, himself included. "And I care because I want to do something with my life, and not end up living under a bridge and eating out of a dumpster!"

"So what, you're saying I'm not doing anything with my life?"

She scoffed, hesitant under Casey's offended glare. "I'm only trying to be realistic here! What are you gonna do when you graduate— _if_ you decide to graduate? Let me guess, you're going to be a world-class hockey champion."

"Yeah!" Casey spat, defiant. "Coach said I got great chances! I'm gonna make it to the big league!"

"That's honestly your only plan?"

"Hey, at least I know what I want! But what do _you_ wanna do with your life, huh, Red? Like, why did you wanna date me? You _obviously_ don't like me! I could tell from the start with that weak… _floppy_ kiss we had. That was a _fail_ kiss."

April reeled. "This has nothing to do with-"

"Okay, so you're all worried about realism or whatever, right? But what's so realistic about a kunoichi with superpowers anyway? Like, why're you even training? Why don't you just drop the ninja biz so you can focus on your _real_ calling, like Math and shit! Then maybe you wouldn't be so bitchy all the time!"

April gaped, hurt and off-balance, as Casey gave her one last look and walked away. He may not have been eloquent or accurate—nevermind that he was probably just angry because their 'date' was in the gutter again—but he'd hit the nail on one thing. She'd been too afraid to face it, the possibility that there wasn't room in her future for ninjutsu or psychic powers. No room for the turtles.

* * *

"Yame!" Splinter shouted, and waited patiently as April froze mid-punch, shooting him a confused glance. She went to kneel on the dojo carpet with a wince of pain.

Her form had been… underwhelming. Once again, she was unfocused, her movements angry and sloppy. She was being absolutely ruthless on herself, seemingly aiming to overload her body into unconsciousness. Knowing she wouldn't stop until he gave the order—or until she passed out—he said, "That is enough for today."

April looked up, eyes shot wide. "What? Already? It's only… been like… an hour!" she protested breathlessly, panting and wiping sweaty hair out of her eyes. She could barely say two words at a time.

Splinter's lips stretched in bemusement. "90 minutes, actually. But I wanted to talk to you." The indignation on April's face morphed into distress.

"Master Splinter… I just wanted to say… I'm really ashamed about last night. It wasn't Donnie's fault, and definitely not Leo's—"

He held up a hand, and she stopped talking. "I do not need more apologies, April. I understand that spirit was the cause for much of what happened last night. Leonardo and Donatello already explained."

She lowered her eyes and said bitterly, "Whatever they told you about me, they were too kind."

He chuckled. "Oh? What makes you so certain?"

"Because I deserve much worse than a 90-minute training session," she deadpanned.

"Hm," he said, overstating his nonchalance. "Tell me, did you think perhaps you deserved a sprained wrist?"

She grasped her forearm timidly, rubbing the joint. "I'm alright, I just twisted it a little."

"In case you thought otherwise, injury was not the objective of this punishment, April. It is supposed to be a chance to reflect on your mistakes. To _learn_. And clearly we have not paid enough attention to your psychic abilities," he added pensively, one hand leaving his cane to stroke at his beard. "They are becoming quite prominent. We will have to keep a closer eye on them."

April's head hanged. "Hai, sensei," she said miserably. As he watched her, his worry growing, the crease in her brow deepened, her posture wilting more and more.

Calmly, he sat in front of her, laying his cane at his side. "You have been… distraught lately, my child," he prompted softly, not in his sensei voice, but in his father voice. "Is there something you would like to talk about?"

She visibly faltered, eyes flicking between him and the carpet. "It's nothing, sensei. A bit of teenage drama, that's all." She said at length, showing him a tight smile. "It'll pass."

Splinter eyed her suspiciously, hand back on his beard. He knew that was certainly _not_ all, but perhaps it was best to let the river follow its course for now. She would come to him when she was ready, like she had before.

Though perhaps a small reminder wouldn't hurt.

"You are Hamato. Whatever happens, know you can always count on your family."

His words seemed to dust away some of the anguish from her gesture, though the crease in her brow did not fully erase. To his relief, she even gave him a smile. Sad, bittersweet, but honest. "I know, sensei."

Two years, Splinter mused, gazing fondly at her. It had been more than two years since April came into their lives. In a time when he was still missing Miwa, his baby girl, when he was sure he would never see his daughter again, this brave young woman had come along, and her loneliness and intrepid nature touched his heart. He became protective of April, came to see her as something close to a daughter. He liked to think she viewed him as a second father as well. They had both lost much, but they had also found each other.

Now Miwa was back, and… Splinter's heart clenched at the thought of her. She was back, but she was not back whole. Something inside of her seemed irremediably altered. His gaze fell on April's tessen, fastened at her side. He thought back to the day he had passed it on to her. Tang Shen's tessen. _Miwa's_ tessen.

Not anymore. This weapon did not suit Miwa—it did not suit Karai. Their lives had been parted so long ago. A lifetime separated—away from his care, his teachings, his love—had made them both strangers to each other. What would she have been like, had she grown up at his side?

Splinter heard a light cough, and snapped back to reality.

April was looking at him curiously. He had been silent for quite a bit.

He stood. "Rest. Put some ice on that wrist. That is all for today."

"Arigato gozaimasu." April said, taking a bow. She stood then with another wince of pain, and headed for the exit.

He watched her go, thinking of how glad he was to have her in their lives; his other daughter. Meanwhile, he could only hope, one day, to be a true father to Miwa as well.

* * *

"Michael, put that down!" Donnie barked, yanking the tire pump from his workshop assistant after he'd already tried to build a bazooka with said pump and an empty canister, resulting in even more broken stuff on the ground. "Just go find me that crank! Remember, it _has_ to be a 9.5mm and splined!"

Actually, it didn't have to _be_ anything; Donnie didn't need that crank. What he needed was a few minutes off from Mikey's obligingness—he'd been working on prepping the Party Wagon for their excursion to meet the future turtles, and Mikey was… helping.

After a suspicious look, his brother blew a raspberry, but finally took off and disappeared out the lab doors. Donnie rubbed his tired eyes, and sighed at the blissful calm that immediately followed.

"You're wasting my skills, bro!" came Mikey's voice still, but it was a couple of rooms away.

He shook his head to himself and quickly got back to work on the Party Wagon's underbody. This respite would only last him about three minutes before Mikey upturned every toolbox and drawer in his bedroom and eventually gave up. He needed to be done and lower the Party Wagon off the lift by then.

It had taken him the whole day to get everything back in order after the spectacle of the previous night. Master Splinter told him to go to bed, but like he'd ever been able to sleep with so much stuff going on and so much left to do. So Donnie had prescribed himself a big dose of caffeine. With barely any sleep for the third day consecutive, and adrenaline levels plummeting after the high of a double training session, he was going to need the boost.

Between the ghost's electromagnetic field frying half of the lab's fuses and the force of April's psychic blast, the lab had certainly seen better days. April's laptop was only one out of many casualties. Poor thing, blown right off the desk. There wasn't much he could do for it right now. He would have to scrunge the junkyard for parts. But machines could be replaced or fixed; he was just glad to be alive. Last night had been the closest one in maybe, hm, five whole months?

Knowing Splinter's punishments, Donnie didn't expect April for a while. So he was surprised to hear her voice calling him from the entrance already just as he was done inspecting the brakes.

"Hey, Donnie?"

He clambered out from under the Party Wagon and peeked around the big tire towards the exit. "Hey," he greeted her falteringly, as she skirted around a pile of debris and broken parts, glimpsing around at the mess. She was clearly fresh out from the shower, hair wet and smelling sweet and flowery, but also wearing a sour face and a series of wet patches on her clothes.

In an effort to conjure a happier expression out of her, he risked a joke. "You know, a turtle shouldn't have to advise you to take your clothes off before bathing." He chuckled uncomfortably at April's long-suffering look. Okay, that didn't work. He cleared his throat. "So what happened?"

"Dropped the shower head with the water running full force and it _whipped_ all over like..." She flailed her arms in the air as visual demonstration, then gave a tired groan. "So uh, I think I forgot my laptop here this morning. Did you see it?"

Donnie cringed. Here it came. He hadn't had the chance to tell her yet that afternoon. Splinter had been waiting for her at the top of the steps when she arrived from school, and she'd practically beelined for the dojo.

"Well… Yes and no," he squeaked, and pointed at the banged up metal mess atop his desk. He was then forced to watch her face as she recognized it.

"Oh no!" she wailed, taking two urgent strides over to the desk and gingerly picking up the device like a wounded bunny. Lucky Donnie had been working on her laptop to make sure he had some good news before she arrived. He was about to tell her when she suddenly slammed it back onto the desk. Donnie jumped.

"Fuck! All my school stuff was here! This is _just_ what I needed! Fu-u-uck!" She lifted the laptop over her head, and Donnie only just saved it before she smashed it to pieces.

"Hey, hey!" he urged, gently taking it from her, quite concerned about her unusually colorful choice of language. "Listen, it's okay, I saved all your files! Here!" He swept the portable hard-drive off the desk and almost poked her in the eye with it.

She gawked at the little gray box being held in front of her nose. "Oh."

"I can fix your laptop too," he offered quickly, just in case, handing her the device. "It'll take a few days, and it's gonna need a new case, but I think I can get it back in perfect working order. Maybe you can borrow your dad's for now?"

"Yeah, I'll… I'll do that." She nodded, rubbing her forehead, and inspected the drive in her hand with a sigh.

"You alright?" he said tentatively, because this couldn't be just for the laptop.

"Yeah, I've just… been having the _shittiest_ day," she admitted with an apologetic glance.

"Oh. Well… join the club." Donnie snickered, as he started putting tools away. "Double morning workout. Doesn't help that I didn't sleep _at all_ last night, _or_ this morning. Or, you know, the previous two nights? Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to rest knowing the state of the lab. It took me all day to get all my stuff back in shape. Thank goodness the portal didn't sustain any damage." He huffed, flinging the last tool aside, which landed in the drawer ten feet away with a clang, then pressed the button to lower the Party Wagon from its lift. He spoke up over the loud whirring. "Leo is beside himself, with the whole Lotus thing, and then… Phew, just be glad you weren't here for his fight with Karai and—"

The Party Wagon hit the ground with a _clunk,_ and he turned around, and suddenly found himself wrapped in April's arms. A little squeak of surprise escaped him at the unexpected touch, her face pressed against his front. Cool droplets trailed down his plastron from April's wet hair.

Okay, he wasn't complaining… But she _was_ clinging a bit desperately to him. Something was up.

"Um…?"

He felt her voice through him more than he heard it, and it took him a second to register her words. "I'm so sorry."

Then it dawned on him, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"What, for last night?"

Her breath hitched. He took it like a sign, and relaxed around her for a proper hug, now that he knew what this was all about. "Oh no, I didn't mean to sound complainy. It's really not that big a deal," he said kindly, giving her back a few comforting rubs. "And it wasn't just you. I stole that pendant, remember? I'm the one who wouldn't let this go."

She smooshed her nose harder against his plastron, and shook her head, clinging to him like a vine.

"Seriously, Master Splinter isn't even that mad! That punishment was annoying at best! I'd almost say the years have made him soft."

She untangled herself from his embrace and pushed away. "No. Donnie, listen—" But her voice caught, and she stared at him, mouthing the beginning of words. Donnie was starting to really worry. Finally she let out a long, hefty sigh. "I'm sorry, Donnie, I don't know what I'm doing lately. I try to do the right thing, but I only make things worse and—"

"Donneeeeh?" came Mikey's bellow like he was talking to someone across the freaking Grand Canyon.

"Back here!" Donnie called, gritting his teeth, and a moment later, Mikey's head poked around the Party Wagon.

"Hey, April!" he said merrily, approaching them.

"Hi, Mikey," April said with a lightless smile.

"Here, Don, your cranky...spoolinizer... kajigger."

Donnie took the device from him: a telescopic shoehorn. He opened his mouth to ask where the heck he'd found it, but thought better of it and just shrugged. "Thanks," he said before discarding it on the table behind him.

"So what happened?" Mikey asked, giving April a once-over. "You get sneezed on by Godzilla?"

Mikey's joke must have been funnier than his: it actually got a little giggle out of April.

"She's having a bad day, Mikey," Donnie said, one hand on April's back, and Mikey gasped dramatically.

"Okay, April, who needs their butts glued to their seat?" He rubbed his palms together. "Give us a name, Dr. Prankenstein will do the rest."

"That's not it, pea brain. She would have wasted them already, eh?" Donnie nudged April in all confidence.

April responded to this with a sarcastic chuckle, but smiled. "No pay off necessary, guys," she said sweetly, a thank you laced with sadness.

"So what is it then?" Mikey asked now with sincere attention, and he lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Donnie looked at her, waiting, but she only shrugged. "It's nothing. Just school stress, that's all."

"Well, I bet you'd feel better after a good meal," Mikey said, snapping his fingers, like food really was the answer to all of life's dilemmas. "Lemme make you something, April. I know just the thing."

"Uh… you don't have to—"

"I'll stick to the cookbook, sheesh," he retorted with a dramatic eyeroll. Then with a wink and a pair of finger-guns, he ran for the door. "BRB!"

"Okay…" April chuckled through her nose.

"He _really_ tries," Donnie said, throwing April a knowing look, to which she nodded, smirking.

"So uh… you wanna talk about it?" he prodded gently before he lost his bravery.

Her smirk turned sour and she ducked her head, shaking it once. "I don't know," she started hesitantly. "I just… I've been generally unfocused and… and messy, and just angry for no good reason."

"No good reason?" he exclaimed. "Come on, April, I'm sure you come up with _a few_ good reasons." He gave her a significant look, and held it until April let out an ironic snort.

"Well, I guess _some_." But then she went quiet, thoughtful, eyes cast to her left. "Maybe that's it," she said at length, her brow slowly furrowing. She propped herself up to sit on the desk as if in slow-motion. "It _is_ too much. I mean, two years ago I was just April, just your regular high-school nobody, and all of a sudden I'm this... Kraang McGuffin with superpowers who's also a ninja wannabe. And I don't know which version of me I like least, to be honest."

April's self-inflicted burns hurt Donnie more than anything, because she honestly, truthfully seemed to believe all that.

Before he could protest, she went on, looking straight at him. "But one thing is certain, and it's that I can't be both."

He didn't like the defeated look on her face, or the way her shoulders sagged as though she had reached some kind of conclusion. He let her go on, dreading to know what said conclusion was.

"I used to be so proud of my powers at first, but… I'm obviously in over my head. I have no idea what I'm doing. I keep screwing up, I'm struggling at school, I can't control my powers..." She lifted the totalled laptop beside her half an inch only to let it fall again with a derisive thump. "I'm just hurting everybody. At this point, I'm… I'm a liability."

"That's not true, and you know it!" Donnie said, perhaps a tad heated.

But she didn't listen, and kept thinking out loud. "And maybe that's why. I have to make up my mind. Maybe I should stop trying to 'harness' my powers and instead find a way to… root them out." April mimed yanking something out of her, and she looked at him questioningly as though he could suggest a method.

Donnie's heart twisted painfully to a knot half its size, and for a second he was knocked out of breath. "What? No! April, you can't give up!" he blurted out in a near panic. "You can't squander all this potential!"

Was that it? Was she trying to say she wanted to quit? End her ninja training? _Leave them_?

"You could have died last night because of me," she said, her head-on look daring him to refute her claim.

Donnie took the dare. "That wasn't _you_ ," he insisted emphatically, to which she scoffed. "And if I didn't die, it's _thanks_ to you. Your powers have saved our shells so many times!"

"Dumb luck. I promise I had no idea what I was doing _any_ of those times."

"We can work on that," he promised. "Look, I'm not great at speeches, that's more Leo's specialty. And I don't know if there's anything else you can't say, or… don't wanna say..."

She perked up for a fraction of a second before looking away, which was all he needed to see.

He ignored the lurch his stomach gave and continued, "But you don't have to tell me right now. You just take your time, and figure it out. And then, if you want, you can tell me, or—or not. Up to you," he managed.

She didn't say anything as she looked to the side, legs held tight against the side of the desk. Donnie was pretty sure she was holding her breath.

As he looked at her, he knew it didn't matter what it was she wasn't saying. All he knew was he couldn't stand seeing her like this. He felt his heart swell, full of a special kind of certainty. He gingerly but firmly took her hands in his. "April, you're going to be a force to be reckoned with someday, I'm sure of it! Take a peek if you don't believe me." He pointed at his temple, leaning in.

April drew up her eyebrows, looking unsure for a couple of seconds. But Donnie waited, and leaned a bit closer encouragingly. After some hesitation, she gave in, getting a look of concentration, and slowly a warm, hopeful smile lit her features. "You really mean that," she said, almost in awe. It wasn't a question.

"You know it," he said, because he knew she did. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze. "But you have to take it a little easier on yourself, okay?"

"Look who's talking," she remarked cheekily.

"Yeah, well…" He nodded guiltily, but was glad to see her making jokes again.

April looked down thoughtfully at their hands, and casually turned them around on her lap as though examining them. His big, green mitt looked bigger still in her pale, thin fingers. He watched her, mesmerized, as she traced the scratches and scars with a look of concentration, almost as though admiring the striking contrast. She didn't even seem to care about the smudges of dirt and motor oil. After what felt like minutes, she let go.

"Thanks, Donnie."

A bit stunned still, he nodded. "Whatever you need, April. Always."

"Well," she said, rubbing her neck and rolling her shoulders. "Now that you mention it, can I borrow that miracle ointment of yours? I think that workout knocked a few screws out of place."

"Of course! Have at it, I got about a gallon of it," he said, quickly opening his desk drawer and retrieving a jar. Before handing it over, he said, "In fact, might I offer a nice, deep, physiotherapeutic massage, free of charge?"

"Actually, that would be nice," she agreed, looking a lot lighter just from the mention of it.

Donnie coaxed her to his desk, relieved that he was able to actually help, and in a more academic tone, he added, "You know, there are numerous studies confirming the emotional and physical benefits of human touch. Or, you know, for lack of a human, mutant turtle touch also works. In fact I'm pretty sure it's even better." He patted the seat invitingly.

She chuckled and shook her head, but sat down eagerly. "You're the doctor."

* * *

The first thing Raph thought when he heard April scream was that it had happened again: that ghost thing was back.

But when he got to the lab he found a whole different scenario. April was leaning half her torso on the table, pinned by Donnie's hands there as she screamed in pain.

"The hell is going on here? The hell you doing to her?" Raph cried, for the smallest fraction of a second thinking Donnie had found out about her date with Casey and was finally taking matters into his own hands, literally.

But Donnie announced proudly, "April's just a bit tense, so I'm helping out."

Raph frowned. "You don't say. It sounds like you're strangling a pig in here!"

April extended her arm out towards Raph. "Raph! Help me! Oww, _mercy_!" she gargled in mock-agony, though how much of it was mock he wasn't sure. He quirked his brow up at the joke, extremely unamused.

"Mercy, you say?" Donnie said mirthfully like a total psycho. "I seem to recall you saying something about that. Something to do with 'not going easy on you'?" He then pressed down _hard_. Raph, who was all too familiar with Donnie's healing massages, shivered. April cried out, but then laughed breathlessly against the wood of the table like she was stoned.

"Aww, they're so cute together," Mikey said, suddenly beside Raph and stirring a bowl of thick... something.

Unable to share the sentiment, Raph narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips.

She was doing it again. Even though she was dating Casey, she was still leading Donnie on. Raph groaned, crossing his arms.

"Come on, Raph. It's adorable," Mikey said tenderly before walking away, still stirring profusely.

But there was just one problem: it was _not_ adorable. Adorable's not what it was at _all_. But he couldn't say why, because he promised Casey. So he walked back to the benches to do another hundred sets if only to drown out the sound of their sickeningly cutesy giggling.

This had to stop. For the good of Donnie.

* * *

 **Whoa-oh, Raph, whatchu gonna do?**

 **Remember, my peeps, reviews are writer chow!**


	26. Chapter 26

**It's a Raph POV chapter! Whuuut!**

 **We are getting very very close to future turtles! We promise, just one more short chapter after this one and then... DUN DUN DUUUUN.**

 **As always, huge thanks to our wonderful beta Queequegg, and also Theherocomplex, even though she couldn't beta this time around. Hugs to both!**

 **ALSO PLEASE NOTE: Some of you showed concern about Apritello, given recent events within the story XD But rest assured, this is still an Apritello fanfic. And while we can't reveal more, at least we can say we're aiming for a generally happy ending. So there.**

* * *

 **Previously...**

April's list of Things To Tell Donnie When The Time Is Right has gotten kinda long. But she hasn't forgotten: she just needs to sort out her wants and feelings before attempting to voice them. And she's definitely not opening that can of worms just a few hours away from the arrival of the future turtles.

Raph, however, sees something very different...

* * *

Raph heaved one last time and shoved the weights back in their catchers with a roar.

"One hundred." He panted and blinked at the droplets of sweat stinging his eyes, then sat up, groaning, and reached for the towel. Nose buried in cloth, he heard Donnie's and April's voices coming out of the lab, and he lifted his gaze.

The pair stopped at the threshold. April fixed her hoodie below her backpack and turned to face Donnie while they spoke. Raph had managed to mostly forget about them and their little… _display,_ with the massage, until now. Unable to make out what they were saying, he watched them covertly, until April stood on tip-toe, and gave Donnie a kiss on the cheek. Raph set his teeth, letting out a low growl.

That morning Casey had told him he wouldn't be able to hang out today because he was planning a date with April. Raph would bet his drum kit that, after that nice massage from Donnie, she was secretly on her way to suck Casey's face off.

 _What is she playing at?_ he thought as April pranced for the turnstiles. The look on Donnie's face as he lingered, watching her go with googly eyes, upset Raph's stomach.

He _wished_ it were true, right? That someone like April could be with someone like them. But it wasn't, and it pissed him off to see Donnie fool himself, still pining over April, still hoping, still _trying_. It pained him to witness this losing game, knowing it would only bring his brother grief.

For the longest time he'd stayed out of it—well, mostly out of it. He'd tried to tell him several times, how it was never going to happen, and he needed to stop doing this to himself, and to April—even when his comments were all dismissed for being 'pessimistic'. But other than that, he'd allowed this charade to continue, being forced to watch from the benches the way Donnie kept setting himself up for blow after blow after blow, each time coming back bruised but still somehow optimistic.

Well, he'd had enough. Now he could say _for sure_ that April was never going to like him back. Because she and Casey liked each other. _Now_ there was proof. Before Donnie had turned around and gone back in the lab, Raph had made up his mind. He was going to put the case to rest once and for all, before Donnie got his hopes up an even higher precipice.

He stood, slapping the towel down, cracked his neck, and headed out after April.

* * *

The tunnel was dark save for some patches of dying sunlight from the sewer grates that lead to the surface—because lights along the rails would kind of defeat the purpose of a secret lair. But Raph didn't need light: he and his brothers could sprint down these train tracks with their eyes closed. He'd had a few laughs at April's cost back when she was new there, and she kept tripping in the dark if she wasn't carrying a flashlight.

There was no sign of a flashlight down the tunnel now—April didn't need it anymore.

Raph followed the sound of her footsteps until he lost them in one of the darkest sections, then he stopped. It was pitch black ahead, and quiet, even though he knew she couldn't have gone up yet. She must have heard him coming—or felt him, or whatever it was she did.

"It's Raph," he said into the shadows.

"Oh," came her light voice from one side, then footsteps. "Right. Sorry. That's what happens when I listen with only my ears." She came into the light pointing at her head and wearing a sheepish smile.

April's friendship hadn't come as easily to Raph as say, Casey's—though easier than Karai's, he supposed. They were friends, he just didn't really… _get her_ that much. Raph couldn't remember the last time they'd had an actual one-on-one conversation.

And then there was that freaky mind thing of hers. He sure was thankful for it, and all the times it had pulled their asses out of the fire. But it had always been a little weird not knowing when she was rummaging through his mind and when she wasn't. At least Karai spoke a language he could understand, with fists and kicks and a fierce tongue—brutal but frank.

"So what's up? Is something wrong?" April asked with a frown. Raph sometimes forgot she wasn't technically a mind reader. Was mind _feeler_ a thing?

"You could say that. I got a bone to pick with you."

After a hesitant pause, she chuckled. "I promise, it'll just be a normal sleepover this time. No ghosts. Maybe one pillow fight at _most_."

He rolled his eyes. "It's about Donnie."

Her frown deepened. "Okay?"

Was this where she searched him and sensed how pissed off he was? He figured he'd let her do her thing for a few seconds to see if she would guess something.

"What the hell is this about, Raph?" she said suspiciously, her voice already ringing with some hostility. _There ya go._

"See, April, you might think because we're friends I'll go soft on you. But if Casey hurt Donnie in some way you can bet your ass I'd be pounding the sunshine out of him," he growled, smacking his fist into his other palm.

She looked confused for a moment, then crossed her arms and lifted one unimpressed eyebrow at him. "If you think your bravado is going to intimidate me, then you got another thing coming."

"Oooh, I'm counting on it, sister, I'm counting on it." He didn't really know what he meant by that himself, but… Well, she was doing the _thing_ again, acting unimpressed like she didn't believe he would hurt her. Not that he planned to really—it seemed a bit much for this particular offense. But just that lack of fear was enough to throw him off every time. April's eyebrow only went further up, disappearing beneath her bangs.

"In fact, I should ask _you_ what the hell this is all about!" Raph yelled and pointed a finger at her, clambering back into the boxing ring, chest out. "What was all that _flirting_ back there? I can't believe this is still going on!"

" _Flirting_?" April's arms uncoiled, her nose crinkled. "We weren't _flirting_!"

"Then what do you call… _that_?" He shoved a hand back towards the lair. "All that lovey-dovey shit you do with Donnie!"

She raised her arms in a wide shrug. "That's called being friendly? You should try it sometime."

"Yeah, right! The… massage, the giggling, the _kiss_!""

"Donnie and I are best friends, that's what best friends do?"

"Okay, look, I know you've been going out with Casey, alright?"

April blanched, face falling slack as if she'd been suddenly switched off. With that, Raph was effectively back with a stunning blow.

"So yeah, what the _hell_?"

"First of all, Raph, how do you know that?" she demanded.

He granted her the favor of going to the point before she tried to deny it. "Casey told me, obviously."

April closed her eyes, sighing. "Well, second of all, mind your own business." Her attacks had lost steam. He came at her again before she could recuperate.

"Sorry, but that's _my_ brother we're talking about, and Casey's _my_ friend, so I'd say that makes it _my_ business!" Raph took one stiff step forward, their faces mere inches from each other. April, the Queen of Stubborn, did not back down.

"Oh, suddenly you care about people's feelings?"

"Funny you saying that, 'cause you'd think, being psychic, you'd worry more about people's feelings so _I_ don't have to!"

"I do worry!" she cried. "That's why I haven't told him yet! You have no idea what's going on! You don't know the position I'm in! I'm… I'm trying, alright?"

The despair in April's tone got Raph for only a moment. His own anger was boisterous, and effectively drowned out any feeling of remorse or pity.

"You're in the perfect position to start telling the truth! Do you like Donnie that way or not?"

"No, I…" April deflated. "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Raph demanded, frustrated with the ambiguous answer.

But taking in April's anguished look, her eyes downcast and avoiding his, he realized she would never put it in words, why she could never like Donnie. The truth was simply too ugly to say out loud in front of any of them. And he didn't have the heart to force it out of her—but then he didn't need to.

In the end, he got what he came for. This was the hard truth, straight from April's mouth. Finally.

Fulfilled, Raph took a deep breath. "Look, April, I don't think you mean to hurt anyone—"

"I don't!" she said urgently. "Donnie's—all you guys are very important to me."

"Then if you know what's good for Donnie, you'll tell him the truth right now. Let him down easy."

April fumbled, brow wrinkled in thought. Then he saw her shake her head ever so slightly. "And if you know what's good for Donnie, Raph, you'll let _me_ handle it. _Please_."

Raph clucked his tongue and let out a dissatisfied breath. But April's eyes were begging as she waited quietly for his answer. And however angry he was at her, she was still his friend. Finally, he yielded, and proposed a deal: "I won't tell him if you tell him."

"I _will_ tell him," April said squarely.

"You better."

"I _will_!" Her eyes glimmered with the little light that reached them as she aggressively held his gaze. "Can I please go?"

Raph pressed his lips, and showed her his palms. "Fine."

She swivelled around and walked away at a quick pace into the darkness of the tunnel. Before her silhouette reached the manhole ladder, Raph started back towards the lair, grumbling to himself.

If there was such a concept as human privilege, man, this would be it. _Oh, poor me. Not one, but two people, pining hopelessly after me. I'm so miserable. Life on the surface sucks._

Yeah, she may not be technically human, as they all knew, but she might as well have been. She _looked_ human and that was enough. She was the perfect candidate for the American dream, nobody was forcing her to hang out with a bunch of sewer monsters. But if for some weird reason she wanted to be a part of this family, then she had to be held up to the same standards!

"Ugh," Raph muttered down at the train tracks, not even sure what he was going on about anymore, a small part of him knowing he was just taking out his frustrations on April. But dammit, he wasn't feeling too fond of her at the moment.

 _And it has nothing to do with her being Casey's new girlfriend,_ said a sarcastic little voice in his head. He shut it up with a snappy, _What the fuck would you know!_

He was still grumbling as he reached the garage door, when it suddenly rose with a deafening rattle. Raph jumped, and glared at the opening. Donnie's head poked out of it, and his big grin faded the moment he set eyes on Raph.

"Expecting someone else?" Raph asked bitterly.

"Yeah, April was stopping by her place and… Well, you set off the perimeter, and I figured she'd forgotten something…" Donnie halted and looked at him. "What are _you_ doing out there? It's still light out."

He shrugged noncommittally. "Was just going for a jog in the tunnels."

"Okay," Donnie said slowly, but thankfully didn't question him. "Well, now that you're here, you mind giving me a hand?"

Being in a dangerous mood that he couldn't justify, he almost told him to get Mikey to help him. Would that raise more suspicion? Even though April kinda deserved Donnie finding out. Eh, it probably wouldn't take long. "Alright."

The lab was almost recovered from April's psychic blast the previous night, at least as far as Raph could tell with all those weird gizmos that he never knew the use for. There was still some equipment out of place, waiting to be repaired and re-installed. He helped Donnie haul one of the big UV lamps from the algae pools that had fallen down. As he held it in place, balancing atop the heavy-duty stepladder while Donnie screwed it back on the ceiling, he caught his brother smiling to himself. And even though a part of Raph knew better, he just…

"You seem in a good mood…"

Donnie hesitated and chuckled sheepishly. UV lamp secured in place, they both climbed back down. "Yeah, I… I dunno, I think…" He cut himself short, fiddling with his wrench, and for a moment seemed like he was going to shrug it off. Good, Raph didn't really wanna hear it anyway.

But he didn't have time to neither ask nor tell him to forget it before Donnie leaned in and said, "I think April might be coming around…"

Raph pressed his lips, incredulous, holding in a torrent. _He just doesn't learn._ "Around what?"

"You know..." Donnie spurred excitedly in a squeaky whisper, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Oh," Raph managed to say, though his spine tingled. "Y-you think? Why? Why do you think that?"

"It's just something about the way she… Well."

Raph bit back a disgusted growl at Donnie's bashful little shrug. "I dunno, Don, I just don't see it," he retorted drily, grasping for a way to convince him without actually betraying April and Casey.

"I'm tellin' ya." Donnie pointed his tool at him, nodding optimistically— _cocky_ even. "There's something different. I think I might… I don't know… Ask her out sometime?" His shoulders trembled giddily, as if just the thought made him the happiest being alive, and Raph _panicked_.

"Oh no, you _don't_ want to do that, trust me."

"Don't worry, Raph. I wouldn't try if I didn't think I had an actual chance. I'm not fifteen anymore," he said around an ironic snigger, walking over to the workbench. Raph chased after him.

"Just listen to me, alright? That is not what's going on. And she is _definitely_ not into you that way."

But Donnie scoffed. "What would you know?"

"Come on, Donnie, wake up already! I've been telling you for ages, nothing is ever going to happen between you two! It's not right that she keeps giving you false hope."

Donnie sighed, and bent over a tools drawer. "Whatever, Raph. I don't know why I told you this. You were never the least bit supportive."

"I'm being very supportive! I'm trying to keep you from making a fool of yourself!"

By the look on Donnie's face, Raph had touched a nerve.

"You're the one making a fool of yourself! You're so cynical you reject the very notion of any of us ever finding someone—"

"She's not _into_ you, Donnie!" Raph drawled heatedly.

"Well, what the hell makes you so sure?" Donnie said, challenging, wrench still in his fist, and Raph couldn't take it anymore.

"Because Casey told me, man!"

Surprisingly, Donnie's face scrunched into a sardonic smirk. "You're seriously taking Casey's word on that?"

"It's not just his word, Donnie. I just talked to April." Raph nodded in the direction of the tunnel, and to hell with his promise. "They're _dating_."

That seemed to do it. Donnie froze, face blank. His brow twitched, snout wrinkling in confusion, and Raph felt his own chest tighten. "What? That doesn't make…" Donnie's words died as he looked to the side, eyes narrowed in thought.

"They asked me not to tell you yet, but you kept daydreaming out loud to me, dude."

Donnie's mouth hung open just enough that Raph could see the gap in his teeth, and he squinted at Raph. "If you're making this up just to make your case..."

Raph said his next words as flat and seriously as possible. "Not making it up, Donnie. Don't believe me? Ask her." This seemed to catch Donnie off guard, looking as though asking April this was the last thing he wanted to do _ever_. "Or better yet," Raph continued, "look in her phone. I bet there's something there between her and Casey. I think they got that stupid pink bug plushie at the fair."

Donnie came out of his trance to cry out in outrage, "I'm not looking through her stuff!"

"Well, then you gotta talk to her. You gotta corner her, ask her to be honest with you and then tell her to cut it off, making you believe there's something there. It's not okay!"

Donnie shook his head vehemently. "I'm not bringing this up. There's gotta be another— There's a reason she didn't tell me."

"The reason is they think you'll blow a fuse, Donnie. Knowing you, I can't blame 'em."

Donnie's expression tightened, but Raph knew his brother would do anything now _not_ to prove him right. Sure enough, he turned his shell on him slowly, and took just a couple of steps. Head hanging, he stood by his desk with the wrench in his fist, anxiously scratching the edge of the table with his nail—probably making a mental flow-chart for a way in which none of it was true.

Meanwhile, Raph's anger had all but burned-out, and all that remained was the taste of cold ashes in his mouth. "Hey, look bro, I'm just looking out for ya," he said softly, but didn't approach his brother. "You think I'm looking forward to those two being an item?"

The muscles on Donnie's neck tensed at his words, but otherwise he didn't move.

"But you know… it was a long time coming. We gotta be realistic here." Raph's own statement sent an unexpected pang through his chest. He ignored it. "Anyway… for what it's worth, I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, you know? I can finish all this up on my own," Donnie said cuttingly, patting a cracked monitor sitting on his desk that may have been their next task. He'd hardly looked in Raph's direction before turning away again. "Thanks for the help."

Raph knew enough mechanics, or whatever, that he could tell his brother was only picking up things off places and setting them on other places to appear busy—rummaging through a drawer as though he was actually looking for something.

This was not Raph's forte. Cheering people up? He was never too good at it—especially when he was the cause. So he remained nailed to the spot, reluctant to leave, but unable to provide comfort. He announced at length, "You should really talk to her about this."

"I'm not gonna do that," Donnie retorted primly. "If it's true, then I'll let April tell me herself. Because I trust her."

Raph repressed an eye-roll. Donnie just refused to see any bad in April. But he knew otherwise: April wouldn't really tell him anytime soon. "Whatever. At least now you know."

"Right. Thanks a lot. Close the door on your way out, will you?" Donnie's voice was nice and level, as he sat down at his desk in front of the broken monitor and started unscrewing the back. Raph was actually impressed he'd managed to stay this cool. He decided to at least give him that, and left him to his thing.

As he heaved the metal door shut, he took one last peek at Donnie, watching him purposefully remove the casing and digging into monitor guts.

He'd done the right thing. Donnie would have asked April out and April would have broken his heart again, and then Raph would've had to put up with his brother's dead eyes and limp shoulders as he skulked in the dark corners of his lab like an emo troll.

It was best this way. And the sooner Donnie learned, the better.

He threw his punching bag a hard one on his way to the pit.

* * *

This was the best scene, the moment the ocean got pissed at all the pollution and finally decided to have its fishy vengeance on humanity.

The camera sunk beneath a sea of garbage, deeper and deeper until it stopped by a mysterious shape, half buried on the ocean bed. A flock of plastic bags swum by and the giant catfish awakened, two glassy eyes glowing in the dark with a supernatural light, and the mile long whiskers shook as it opened its great mouth and made its call. The ocean surface bubbled, aquariums all over Japan cracked, as thousands of aquatic creatures erupted from the waters to the call of the great Namasu.

They'd seen this old movie a million times, both in English and the original Japanese. So when they saw it was playing on TV, they sat down to watch it again, of course. Anyway, it was mostly a means to get their minds off current crap until it was time for bed. With those future turtles arriving _at freaking 4am_ , Karai locked in her room for hours, and the image of Donnie's face, the exact moment that his heart shattered, playing on repeat in Raph's mind, everybody seemed to have reason to seek a distraction. Even Splinter had sat down with them, which he didn't often do, especially not for monster movies. He watched askance, eyebrow raised and lopsided whiskers, as a bank of rabid mutant goldfish ate their human owner alive.

"Kinda reminds me of the frogs back at the farm. Those guys were alright," Mikey said, one arm over Ice Cream Kitty, the other over his weird plush-bug girlfriend. The comment earned him a few raised eyebrows.

Raph grunted inwardly, and shifted, unable to find a comfortable sitting position. This wasn't working—he wasn't distracted enough to forget about Donnie. His brother had turned down movie night, but only he knew the reason. During an especially drone romantic scene between the dull-as-plain-oatmeal protagonist and his cookie-cutter love interest, Raph's gaze drifted towards the closed lab doors.

Had he been wrong to tell him? He wasn't one to meddle, normally. Nobody thought of him as a particularly sensitive guy, or someone who interested himself with corny, mushy shit. But the thing was, whatever they thought of him, seeing his brother like this busted his metaphorical balls too. Man, between Donnie and Leo… Apparently Raph was the only realistic one here. What did Donnie call him? Cynical? Okay, so he was cynical, if only because _he_ knew, in the end, he and his brothers had no one to rely on but each other. There was no place for them outside these sewers and soon April and Karai would realize this, and go on their merry way—as they should. Even Casey. Now that he and April were a thing, all that was left for them to do was find a nice, comfortable human life on the surface and forget about them.

Something bubbled up inside Raph. Not the usual red-colored rage, but something more… blue, maybe. So, purple? It was something angry, but also desperate and hurting. He tried washing it down with a large swig of his soda, concentrating on the screaming masses running amok on screen, as the giant squid unceremoniously smooshed them to a pulp on its way to its master. He'd heard the sound of human panic countless times already, in real life, and it was never good news. Today, though, it was music to his ears.

His lower shell buzzed, and once the cheap gore scene was over, and the obligatory romantic scene started, he reached around to one of his belt pockets for his phone.

 **IAmCaseyJones:** "Dude I'm some wasyrd. I cushion my bile lol wanna chst.?"

So, Casey's texting abilities never were top notch, but this one had to be a new record. Looked like he'd somehow activated autocorrect, not that it helped. His face scrunched in concentration trying to decipher the message, to no avail.

Well, he wasn't with April at least, or why would he be texting him? Not that he cared...

Raph was about to reply when the lab doors opened, and Donnie walked out, duffle bag over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Leo asked aloud, lowering the volume on the TV, and Raph perked up.

"To the junkyard. I'm missing some key components," Donnie said casually.

"Need help?" Mikey asked, already sitting up, but Donnie quickly lifted a hand.

"No, thanks, Mikey. Um, but tell April not to wait for me, in case I don't make it to bedtime."

"Okay," Leo agreed with a shrug, blissfully oblivious, though maybe a tad surprised.

Raph, however, sighed, gauging Donnie, who was clearly avoiding his gaze. He'd bet his ass Donnie would take the long route, just so he wouldn't cross paths with a certain someone.

"Do not be too long, Donatello. Remember you boys have to be up at 3am," Splinter said, and Raph caught the excited little grin under his whiskers. He had to remind himself that his father still didn't know about the ghost of Tang Shen.

"Yeaaaaahhh, future bros, bros!" Mikey hollered, bouncing on his butt.

"No worries, sensei," Donnie said starting to turn, but stopped. Raph followed his gaze to see Karai coming down the steps from the bedrooms.

"Hey, Karai," Leo called in an overly cheerful tone. "We're watching 'Wrath of Namasu'. You're just in time for your favorite part with—"

"With the sinking ship and the giant tsunami over Tokyo!" Mikey contributed, gesturing Karai over. "Hurry or you'll miss it!"

"Nah, I'm actually kinda sleepy." There was a smile on her face, though the more Raph looked at it, the heavier it appeared, as if it weighed on her face muscles. "Just stepped out to say goodnight."

Suspicious, Raph searched Leo's face. But his brother only replied in the same cheerful tone that wasn't fooling anyone, "Okay, then. Goodnight!"

"Night!" came the chorus, which Raph awkwardly joined.

"Sleep tight, Karaiwa!"

"Goodnight, my daughter," Splinter said as well, and after a short glance, Karai started back to her room.

"We'll wake you up at three," Leo said, still on the edge of his seat as if he'd run after her.

Karai nodded emphatically, thumbs up. "Right. Can't wait."

It was only when her door was closed that they all exchanged looks of worry. Splinter's face was probably the most disquieting: he sat there, quiet and seemingly serene, almost as if nothing was wrong, and yet his eyes were fixed on empty space, ears dipped slightly back. It didn't put Raph much at ease.

Donnie, still gazing towards the bedrooms with a crease in his brow, broke the silence. "Well... Be back in a while. I'm on my T-Phone."

"Later, Donnie," Leo answered with a sigh, and turned the volume back up on the TV. Mikey and Splinter waved, but Raph didn't bother seeing as though Donnie wouldn't even look at him. He leaned back, crossing arms and legs, and tried to get back into the movie.

Karai's favorite scene passed, then it was time for more pointless congratulatory romance, and the movie was over. Just as the credits began to roll, everybody's phone started beeping madly.

"Guys, Casey's 'in danger' again," Mikey announced in an unimpressed monotone, phone in hand.

"Raph, you know anything about this?" Leo said wiggling his, after which he stood, stretching, and pressed the off button on the remote. The old TV went out with the usual old-fashioned _poof_.

But hell if Raph knew. Ten minutes ago he thought Casey was with April. He took another shot at his cryptic text from before, but it didn't really clear anything up either. He tried calling him next, but Casey wasn't picking up.

Letting out a grunt, he opened the GPS, which showed the location of Casey's bike. "I'll go check. He's close by. Probably just ran out of battery. I'll beep ya if it's anything."

Leo and Mikey agreed, unconcerned, and Raph collectedly made his way towards the exit with an exasperated huff as they went in the opposite direction, towards their beds.

Once he was out of sight however, he broke into a sprint.

* * *

 **Why can't things ever be simple amirite?**

 **What did you think? Was Raph right to intervene? Would you watch Wrath of Namasu?**

 **Remember reviews are writer chow!**


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